The Wolf and The Lamb He Chases
by PonderRose
Summary: One day Christian Grey, a wolf, spots the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. There's only one snag: she's a lamb. The wolf desires this precious lamb more than anything, but society has something to say about their relationship. Anastasia holds Christian's heart, and he becomes her armour. Slow burn. ChristianxAnastasia, AnastasiaxPaul. Enjoy!
1. Murder

[Author's Note: The people in this are not anthropomorphic animals like in Zootopia. They look like ordinary humans on the outside but have animalistic spirits, or spirit animals (all humans have this too; there are no animals in this world). Herbivores must be vegetarians while carnivores historically have eaten herbivores, although most elect to eat soy products in the modern age (FYI, they don't see this as cannibalism; although they all look the same, all people identify with their animal spirit as their true species). One's animal spirit is determined at birth; one will always have the same animal spirit as their parents. Crossbreeding does occur on occasion, but it is the exception and not the rule. For the most part, species mate with their own kind. The biggest taboo in all societies, however, is a carnivore marrying an herbivore.

I know this is a lot of pre-story information; I hope you find it useful. My most requested Fifty Shades story idea is supernatural. This story was inspired ironically not by Zootopia but the anime, Beastars. I strongly suggest you watch Beastars's opening on YouTube; it fits this story perfectly. Please read and enjoy; comments are always welcomed!

Thanks again lovely readers!]

It started with a murder.

Everyone in my dorm house woke up to the sounds of sirens ringing. "All students report to Common Room! All students report to Common Room!" I rubbed my eyes, sitting up in my bed. A check of my phone revealed the time: seven o'clock. Great. With all the strength I could muster, I forced myself to get out of bed, grab my wool poncho- yes, a lamb wearing wool; like I've never heard that one before- and dragged myself out of my single dorm room.

All my flatmates were groggily exiting into the hallway too. I live a few doors down from one of my best friends, Kate. We met each other in the middle of the hall; both of us were still in our pyjamas. "Nugh, what's this about?" My hand tried to rub the remaining sleep out of my eyes. "Don't know," Kate yawned. Kate's animal spirit is a red panda, so she's a bit of an earlier bird than me. A bit, but not by much. Along the way, our friend, Jose, joined us; he was tall and lanky, as one would expect a giraffe to be.

"Hey, do you know what's going on?" He inquired to us. We shook our heads. "No clue." "Ugh, this is child abuse; making us get up this early," Kate groaned. The three of us entered the Common Room, where everyone from our floor was congealing- herbivores and carnivores alike. They didn't segregate the spirit species anymore. "Herbivores on the right! Carnivores on the left! Shortest in front! Tallest in the back!" Well, most of the time. Our dorm parent, Mrs. Crumb, was of the old-fashion sort.

We all shuffled to our positions. Kate, Jose, and I were all in the same side of the room, but in different rows. I, being one of the shortest, was in the front row while Jose was right near the back. I looked at Kate, then Jose, then Mrs. Crumb. The owl cleared her throat before addressing us. "Children," she was fond of calling us, despite all of us being in our late teens. Of course, no one said anything, and she continued. "Children, I regret to inform you that there's been a murder on campus. Last night, Tom Alister was killed outside the library."

No one said anything; what could we say? A murder of a fellow student here on campus? How… How did this even happen? I wouldn't say I knew Tom Alister personally; he didn't live in our dorm house and we had no classes together. We never actually spoke to each other. It's just…. to know that he was dead…. That was an unfamiliar and very unpleasant sensation. Kate and I merely gave one another one of "those" looks, as did many of our floor mates. After letting the initial shock set in, Mrs. Crumb saw fit to carry on.

"We have no leads as to who his attacker is yet, but authorities have reason to believe that this was a species-based assault." Species-based. That's the modern way to say when "carnivores hunt herbivores". Tom was an antelope, I should note. Obviously this caused immediate tension in the room, with us herbivores glancing to one another, then at the carnivores on the other side. They all jostled uncomfortably and didn't look us in the eye. It should be noted that Mrs. Crumb herself was a meat-eater too. She cleared her throat again, as if attempting to banish the uneasiness permeating the air.

"Now, now, settle down; settle down," her hands waved in the air like we weren't already morbidly silent. When literally none of us reacted, she lowered them. "Until the police resolve the matter, there will be some new rules implemented for all students, irrelevant of species." Then Mrs. Crumb paused for a moment, like she was expecting us to start rebelling or something. When we still did nothing, she proceeded yet again. "A curfew will be enacted for all students; you are to be in your dorm house by eight o'clock sharp. Students will also not be permitted any visitors on campus until further notice. You are to report any suspicious personale or activity to an appropriate authority. Am I understood?" The last question was asserted with a firm, adult tone. "Yes, Mrs. Crumb," we all sighed in unison. She nodded, seemingly pleased by this.

"Very good. Now return to your rooms. Breakfast is at nine sharp," her hand now shooed us away. We left the Common Room in a stunned silence. Jose was the first to enter his room without a word. Then Kate and I gave each other one last, noiseless look before we parted. I went into my room and over to my unmade bed. I sat on the edge, staring into space for a long minute. There was so much on my mind and yet, nothing at all. After a while, I eventually laid myself back in bed and pulled over the covers. I did my best to empty my head before drifting back to a dreamless sleep.


	2. It's Fine

Christian's P.O.V.-

There's no other way to put it. Not just me but everyone in my dorm house was devastated at the news that Tom had died. Tom! Of all people, Tom. I couldn't for the life of me understand it. It's not that I knew Tom well; he wasn't my floormate. But I knew him enough to know that he was a decent guy. He was one of the good ones. Why would anyone want to hurt Tom, never mind kill him?

I think the worse part for me is that I secretly knew that Tom wanted to confess to this one girl. He desperately wanted to but was always too shy to approach her. I am aware of this because I caught Tom standing at his locker like every day after class; we had the same science class. He'd stand in front of his locker, which was open and had a letter inside it. It was a love letter, Tom once told me when he caught me looking at him. He blushed, ruffled the back of his neck, and flashed me an embarrassed grin. The girl he liked was a mountain goat; he wasn't sure if she'd reject an antelope like him. I didn't say anything this first time- I merely grinned back in a hollow way.

That's what I thought about during Tom's funeral; the school had a small ceremony for him that afternoon. His closest friends gave speeches about him, and the dean said a few words. The atmosphere was sombre and… awkward, to say the least. I noticed the herbivores sitting apart from the carnivores. Not that I blame them; this must be a terrifying for them. And as usual, they look at the rest of us with scorn, fear, and distain. I don't mind though, I quietly told myself while the dean spoke. That's when I saw the girl Tom liked a few rows beside me in the auditorium; her back was facing me. My eyes began to lower. I don't mind their prejudice anymore….

Christian's Memory:

_Tom let out a long sigh and placed the letter back into his locker. He shut the door and looked blankly at me. "Still can't do it?" I asked in an understanding tone. My heart went out for the guy…. His back straightened up and he attempted to flash me a self-conscious grin. "Uh, t-the timing felt off today; that's all. She was with her friends….." When I didn't verbally respond, the lines on his awkward face softened. His eyes scrolled down a tad. "It's fine. I'll tell her how I feel…. when the time comes." _

When the time comes….. He said that last week, and now here we are- next week without him. I stood in from of Tom's locker for the very last time. My hand rose up so my fingers could caress its door. It was unlocked so I took the opportunity to look inside. As expected, the letter was still there, resting and waiting to be delivered. I stared at it for a long time.

I knew where to find Alice; we shared two classes together. I waited until it was dark out- probably not one of my better ideas- to approach her. She had just said goodbye to a friend and was about to go inside her dorm house. Or at least, she was before I emerged from the shadows of the trees. Her eyes immediately widened in alarm and terror as I came closer. Her hand rose up to her chest; she took a few nervous steps backward. I could hear her gasping from here.

"W-what do you want?" Alice finally asked me in an extremely shaky voice. I didn't say anything, instead pulling out the letter from my back pocket; she didn't see. "What are you doing here? W-what do you want with me, wolf?" She kept stepping back until her feet were touching the bottom step. That's when the panic really came to her face. "G-get back! Get away from me!" Her voice shrilled, both arms flew up protectively in front of her face.

You see, I'd refrained from speaking until now. Large carnivores like me have what you might call a "dominate" voice. In the old days, it used to have duel purposes: to seduce prey and command them. My voice was intensely deep and frightening if you'd never heard it before; at least, that's what I thought. That's why in response to her understandable freak out, I merely held out the letter for her.

This grabbed Alice's attention, but she didn't move just yet. Seeing that she needed some prompting I said in the most calm, quiet voice possible: "here, take it." She cautiously peered over to get a better look at the envelop. It read: To Alice, with love Tom. It was most obviously a love letter, which she got immediately. "A… letter… from Tom?" Her eyes shined dumbfounded up at me. I shuffled a bit inelegantly, making sure not to look her in the eye. "I….. was waiting until we were alone… to give it to you." I usually wasn't this misspoken and low toned, but what with the fear of carnivores- especially ones like me- going around, I didn't want to do anything to frighten her more.

Her gaze shifted from me to the letter, which she eventually took from my hand. I noticed her thumb rub over the top affectionately. Poor girl… "You….. wanted to give this to me?" I wasn't sure if this was a question, but I decided to take it as one. I slowly nodded my head. "I knew Tom wanted to give it to you…." I uttered punitively. That's when her lips curled into a grateful smile; her eyes finally softened. "Thank you… I appreciate it." "No problem. See you tomorrow," I turned to leave; no point in me hanging around anymore.

I got about ten steps before Alice called me back. My head spun over my shoulder to see her still grinning at me- a real smile. "I'm….. I'm sorry… for the way I treated you earlier. You… didn't deserve that." For a second, I neglected to say anything. What should I say? She was afraid of me, after all. It doesn't matter that she doesn't know a thing about me, that I've never eaten meat before, that I've never borne my claws or fangs at anyone. None of that matters…. I learned a long time ago that absolutely none of that matters. I'm a wolf, an apex predator- end of story. Still, I knew she was expecting a reply, so I nonchalantly shrugged my shoulders.

"It's ok; you don't have to be sorry." This altered her expression from one of remorse to one of confusion. Her arms lowered at her side. "W-what do you mean?" "I mean I'm used to….. to being treated that way. It's ok with me now," I said with utter emptiness. I've always lived being feared and loathed by more than half of society. Why should this encounter change anything? But it's alright; I'm used to it now. I'm fine with it…

I don't mind their prejudice anymore.


	3. Someone Out There For You

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

Kate and I were walking to biology class, making small talk- or not so small talk- along the way. "Did he really try to kiss you?" Kate asked me and I internally hissed. Yeah, not a pleasant memory for me; not at all. "I told him I wasn't interested, period," I stated with finality. Of course, with Kate nothing was ever final.

"What?! Girl, do you know many would love to be in your position?" "Constantly harassed by male herbivores?" "Having hunky men throw themselves at your feet all the frikin time! I mean seriously, you don't even have to try!" "And that's supposed to be a good thing?" I retorted. Yeah, of course it's going to sound glorious when she says it like that. But the reality was much different… It usually is, I contemplated gazing down. "Of course it's a good thing! Do you know how hard it is to get the larger herbivores' attention?" She sighed in a wistful way. Hard? What's hard is getting them to stay away. My head just looked down; my fingers jostled a little. "He has a girlfriend, Kate…."

"Hey, you!" Speaking of which… "Bitch, I'm talking to you!" Kate and I both paused to turn around. Three girls were aggressively standing behind us; a zebra, a lizard, and a horse. The horse was the one who called out for us, or rather me. I think she tried to look threatening with her hands planted on her hips like that. Kate appeared more aggravated than I was, but she's always been protective over me. Everyone's protective over the weak, helpless, adore, little lamb…. I say with no sarcasm at all- insert eyeroll here.

Clarise, I think her name was, took a dangerous step towards us. "Get this straight, lambchop! Stay away from my boyfriend! He's mine, got that?!" "Just ignore them," Kate tugged on my arm to keep walking forward; she was already done with their nonsense. "Hey! We're not done here! Come back and tell it to my face, you slut! Tell me everything you did with MY boyfriend!" Slut, huh? That's ironic; I've never even been kissed before. That word was the exact opposite of what I was. Not that she knew nor cared.

Kate flashed her a warning snarl. "What did you call my friend?" "Are your ears as small as your brain? I called her what she is, a s-l-u-t." Kate growled viciously, and I rested my hand overtop hers. Her eyes rolled over my way and I made sure to grin at her before turning back to Ms. Jealous here. Seeing the misplaced disgust in her face made my smile vanish into thin air. What a creep- no wonder her boyfriend strays. Not that I'd ever condone that kind of behaviour.

"There's nothing I want to tell you; I suggest you speak to your boyfriend. Who knows? He may be honest with you… for once." "Oh, burn!" Kate shouted like this was some sort of victory for us. I merely shook my head and kept on walking, already tired of this unnecessary drama. Clarise, however…. I could feel the hair on the back of her neck swell up from where I was. "Bitch! Pretty high and mighty talk from a weakling sheep!" "Uh, lamb; I'm a lamb, a juvenile sheep," I'll admit, I had fun seeing the look on her smug face when I corrected her. Boy, if glares could kill… And here I thought carnivores were the deadliest animals.

"Listen here, you walking hogget. You'd better pay attention cause I'll only say this once: say the hell away from my man! I don't even know what he sees in you; I'm like a hundred times stronger than you, and we're the same bloody species!" "Oh, give it a rest, long nose. So your boyfriend tries to cheat on you with a purer, sweeter animal that you. Why don't you put on your big-girl panties and just get over it?" Savage, Kate; I leered her way. Clarise's expression was one of shock and mild horror. Spotting an opportunity to get the hell outta dodge, we held hands and walked briskly down the other side of the hall, holding in our snickers until we turned the corner. But before we could, one of Clarise's friends hollered back: "don't think you've seen the end of us! You'll get yours soon, whore!"

"Don't think you've seen the end of us," Kate repeated in a mocking tone once we were out of earshot. I laughed, but it was kind of hollow. What they said…. Yeah, there's definitely a downside to being this way. Not that Kate noticed. "The nerve of her calling you a slut. The bitch; it's a miracle she has a boyfriend in the first place." "Yeah, but to tell you the truth, her boyfriend's no prize either." "He's a stallion, Anny." "He's a cheater, is what he is," my eyes rolled. Ugh, no thank you; she could keep him, as far as I'm concerned.

"Yeah, you're right there. The guy for you has to be loyal and faithful… Wait, are rams intrinsically loyal?" She asked me. "They are, for a time," I shrugged; I wouldn't know much about rams. My father was a moose; would have been nice for him to have shared some of that strength in the family gene pool. "But I don't know if I'll end up with a ram. There aren't any at our school," I then heard myself continue, burying my hands in my pockets. "Really?!" Kate sounded surprised by this, for some reason. "Are you sure you're going to marry a red panda?" I countered to her. Her nodded gave a nod in understand. "Ok, I see your point. But if not a stallion like Bill, what kind of man do you want to date?"

I considered this for a second, probably because I'd never considered it before. What kind of man do I want to date, to be with? It seemed like such an odd question hearing it out loud. So odd that it made me scratch the back of my head. "Good question…." "Come on, Anny. You've turned down five love confessions this year alone." "Those don't count. They weren't in love with me; not really…." "Really? How could you tell?" "Huh, I don't know…." I never thought about that before either. Somehow I could just…. tell.

"Hey, what about Paul?! He's definitely got a thing for you!" Kate's fingers snapped. "Well, I don't know… I just….. it's weird. I don't…." "You don't what?" Her eyebrow rose up. "I just haven't met anyone I'm dying to get into a relationship with, that's all. For now, I'm happy being single." "Oh, really? That's different." "You think so?" "Well, we are in high school, after all. You've never even been on a date before; aren't you curious?" "Not really… I mean, maybe when I meet the right guy I will be." "Boy, aren't you picky." "Hey!" I shot her a look. She grinned and gave my shoulder a playful shove.

"Ah, don't worry; we still have the rest of the school year. You're bound to find someone sooner or later." "You think?" "Sure! Herbivores make up more than half the world's male population. There's gotta be someone out there for you." "Yeah…." I glanced out the window to the meadow down below. Maybe…


	4. A Casual Friendship

Christian's P.O.V.-

Football practice had been cancelled today; the team was still recovering from Tom's untimely death. This meant that I didn't have much to do after dinner. Jason had an essay to write and everyone else was doing their own thing. I meandered through the school's main building's corridors aimlessly with my hands buried in my pockets. I hadn't intended on going to the cafeteria; that's just where I wound up.

I entered in time to see a fight break out; or perhaps the end of the fight. It was clear to all who had won. It's rare to see herbivores fight but they do on occasion. Spectators had gathered around, both carnivores and herbivores alike, to watch the carnage and cheer. As I approached the crowd, I realized to my utter shock that one of the fighters was someone I knew personally; the quarterback on my football team. I gawked as Paul Clayton held the stallion by the collar of his shirt in a very threatening manner. The stallion looked as scared as you can image, though more at the prospect of being beaten up by someone more than twice as strong as he was.

"If you ever try and kiss her against her will again, I swear I will rip out that gaudy mane of yours!" Paul's voice boomed. Her? I wonder who's he talking about. The stallion's hands went up in a show of surrender. "I-I won't, I promise! I'll never do it again!" Man, was his voice trembling. This promise made some around me chuckle, while others simply shook their heads. "Well, what did he expect? Pissing off Paul like that?" One girl whispered to her friend within earshot. "I know; what an idiot. A stallion and a rhino- it's no competition," another guy agreed. No competition, huh? My gaze wandered back to the two figures.

"You stay away from her!" Paul barked. "I-I will! I'll never talk to her again; I'll won't even look at her. N-now please let me go," the stallion seemed more and more desperate. With a pathetic tisk at his opponent, Paul finally released him, watching in glory as he scrambled off; the observing crowd cleared a path for him along the way. Everyone watched him run away, while Paul stood there in a sort of humbled pride- if that makes any sense. "Bastard," he muttered before wiping his mouth with his hand. I know Paul didn't like fighting, but he was certainly strong enough to win; he could even take on predators which said something.

In our society, you're judged primarily by how physically strong you are. Doesn't matter if you're an herbivore or a carnivore- but carnivores are usually stronger of the two. Most of the time carnivores compare themselves strictly to other carnivores; it's the same with herbivores. Plant-eaters like Paul were considered at the top of the pecking order because they are the strongest of all herbivores. It's the same with me and carnivores; I'm what you might call an apex predator. However, unlike herbivores who revel in their strength, mine is more of burden on me. It's easy to be strong in a sea of various species when you don't naturally use that strength to kill; it's harder when your strength is meant to assist you killing. I had to shut my eyes and give myself a mental kick. No, I ordered myself. You're not going to think about any of that, Christian; no thinking about any predator instincts… You can control them; you can!

"Christian!" My eyes instantly opened, and my head spun sideways to see Paul coming towards me. "P-Paul?" I don't know why I gasped; I wasn't surprised to see him. He put his hand friendly on my shoulder. "Tell me you didn't see all that just now." "Er… well…. uh….. n-not exactly," again, I stumbled with my words, and I have no idea why. After all, it's not I see Paul as prey or anything….

Realizing this, I made straighten up and get a grip. I looked at Paul head on and relaxed my face muscles. "What was that all about?" I asked in a much more confident tone. Paul let out a long sigh. "He just messed with someone precious to me, that's all. Had to make sure that won't happen again," he ended his sentence with a telling smirk. Someone precious? I know Paul has a lot of female- and platonic male- admires, but he's never said anything about a girlfriend before. That would explain his show of strength- the protective instinct is powerful, so I've heard.

"But about you, wolfman? What are you doin' here?" Paul patted my shoulder a couple of times before removing his broad hand. "Me? Oh, nothing. Just wanted to get of the dorm house," I shrugged casually. "In that case, why don't you come with me? I wanted to visit Tom's memorial again today." Tom and Paul weren't really close friends, but you could tell it hit the herbivores on the team severely. I nodded and we set off.

Paul and I weren't the closest of friends, but we'd develop a sort of repour since we signed on to the same football team. Paul wasn't like most herbivores in the school; he had a lot of carnivore friends and acquaintances. Being one of the strongest herbivores on campus, he wasn't so afraid of us. Heck, I bet Paul could beat a majority of us to a pulp. He acted like a bridge between the two species-types, having contacts on each side. And I liked Paul; he was the no-nonsense kind of fellow. He said it like it was and wasn't afraid to give you shit, regardless of what species you were. It was refreshing to have someone like him around. I didn't have many plant-eater friends, but I'm glad he was one of them.

I didn't have to worry about my own strength so much around him like other herbivores…

We stayed at Tom's memorial site for a while, discussing several things. Ironically one thing neither of us brought up was why Paul was beating up the stallion earlier or who this "her" was he mentioned. Oh well, I trusted that he had his reasons for keeping it personal. None of my business, I'm sure. Instead we talked about the team, our classes, and how weird it would be never seeing Tom at any games or practice anymore. "He was a good kid," Paul would say, staring forlornly at Tom's photo. "Yeah," I'd concur, also gazing at it. Paul was right, and this was a tragedy; no getting around that. And to think it was a species-based attack….

Paul blinked over to me when I got unknowingly and unintentionally quiet; my eyes drifted down in a contemplative fashion. "Christian?" "Huh?" "You ok?" He questioned me. Am I ok? Of course I'm ok; it's sad but it has nothing to with me. It doesn't matter that Tom was a herbivore and I'm….. not. "Y-yeah, I'm fine," my fingers twitched as I said this. Paul eyed me for a minute before spinning his head back forward.

"Don't sweat it, man." "Sweat what?" "You know…." We glanced at each other. Oh…. oh! My lips morphed into a thin, understanding line as my eyes lowered softly. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Paul." "No problem. You can't help these things." Yeah, I guess I can't… I was about to say something until another familiar voice cut me off. We both glanced to see Rob, one of the cheetahs on team running over to us.

"Paul!" "Oh, hey Rob," we greeted sociably. "There you are, Paul! I wanted to ask; would you mind practicing a few plays with me?" Rob panted like he had been running for a while. Paul looked startled. "Now? But the field closes at seven." "Please! Couch said I need to work on my passes or I'll have to sit out the next game. Pleeeeeeeease? You're the best player on the team," Rob clasped his hands tightly together. Paul and I looked at one another. Paul gave me one of those "should we?" expressions. I responded with a shrug. Then our quarterback sighed relenting.

"Alright, let's do it. But only if you'll keep watch for us, Christian." "Huh?" I don't remember volunteering for that. But Paul gave me a pleading look. "It's after seven and the field will be closed by now. You'll need to keep watch while we practice." "I dunno….." I hummed and hawed. "Please, Christian! I really could use the help!" Oh great, now Rob was begging me. After observing them for a second, I rolled my eyes and nodded my head. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, you guys!" "Yeah, yeah; just keep this under wraps, ok? Or we'll all be suspended from the team," Paul told him. Rob nodded excitedly. Then we got up and made our way to the men's locker room.


	5. The Most Desirable Trait

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Anny?" Kate and Jose were waiting by the door for me. I spun my chair around so they could see me shake my head. "No, thanks. I think I'll just head home tonight," I wasn't a night owl by any stretch of the imagination. "Well, if you're sure," Kate sighed; they were on their way to get something to eat after a gruelling study section. As for me, I just wanted to go home, have a warm shower, and hop into bed.

"Have a good night, Anny." "Yeah, we'll see you tomorrow," Jose tacked on. "See you tomorrow. Have fun, be safe," we waved until they were out the door. I gave a heavy sigh and spun back around to my desk. It was still covered with papers and cheat sheets. Choosing to call it a night myself, I started gathering them up and putting them into my backpack. I was almost done when…

"Going home, slut?" Oh god, no… My eyes reluctantly peered over my shoulder to see two other girls on their way out. None of them were Clarise or her friends from earlier today, but they were still some of her friends. They shot me insidious looks- course. It took everything I had not to roll my eyes. They elbowed each other in the rib cage. "I bet she's going to fuck her boyfriend." "You mean her "boy toy". Sex-crazed whores like her don't have boyfriends." "You're right. She's probably gonna sleep with at least five guys tonight." "I was thinking more like ten."

"Are you done?" I snapped, finally having enough of their mockery. I'm still a virgin, for god's sake! "Just one more. You know males aren't allowed to stay overnight in our dorm rooms, right?" "Oh, she knows; she just doesn't care. Such is the way of the slut. Haha, come on, Ivy," the duo made their way out, laughing the entire way. I watched them until they left, waiting until I knew for sure they were gone before turning back around. My head was down, and my eyes were low.

Dammit all; this isn't my fault. I never asked for any of this! Five guys confess to me in one school year and despite me rejecting them all outright, I'm still considered the biggest slut on campus. My hands balled into tight, angry fists. This is stupid; why am I getting upset? After all, they're only doing this because they're jealous of me. It's so obvious, it's almost painful. And yet, do they even know what they're jealous of? "Those morons…." I heard myself sigh.

What they didn't know, what none of them knew is that none of the boys asked me out because of me. I barely even talked to any of them: the stallion, the elephant, the panda, the deer, or the walrus. I didn't know any of their names, and two of them didn't know mine. Yet they still ironically confessed their "love" for me. Love, ha! There's no love there; love doesn't come into the equation.

I went to the bathroom on the way out to wash my hands. Despite their purity, I still felt… dirty somehow. While in there, I gazed up into the mirror; I stared at my reflection and reflected. No, love and affection for me have nothing to do with it. Male herbivores are attracted to me for one thing. One, simple thing. My inherent weakness. That's what they all liked about me so much; not my personality or even what I look like. It all comes down to strength, or lack of it in my case.

While most female herbivores take pride in their body strength, that's not what males are attracted to. When it comes to female herbivores, the weaker you are, the more attractive you become to the male gaze. And what's more attractive than a defenceless, frail, fragile, little lamb like myself? That's what those stupid girls don't get. _"I don't even know what he sees in you; I'm like a hundred times stronger than you!"_ They don't understand that female strength and power isn't viewed as an asset in the planet-eater kingdom.

My fingers slowly lifted up to caress the side of my cheek; it's the cheek where Bill kissed me when I turned my head away. I didn't want to kiss him; I don't want anything to do with him. That's how it always is, and yet, I still get labelled a "slut" anyway. It really doesn't matter if I sleep with them or not. But I don't want to give them what they're really looking for, and it's not sex funnily enough. No, all these men who want weak girls like me have something else in mind.

Unlike carnivores who go into beast-mode, herbivores have what's called a "protective instinct". I actually think carnivores have it too, but definitely not for herbivores like me I'm sure. The protective instinct is enacted when someone the animal cares for is in peril, and the weaker the object of protection is- aka, me- the stronger the protector becomes. It's an evolutionary adaptation that helps males protect their mates; although females also have this mode in regard to their children or sometimes mates too. I've certainly never experienced it before.

It's like a constant contest of strength here at school. All the herbivores, particularly the males, show off their physical potency to each other and ranking one another accordingly. It helps nothing that there are also pretty strong carnivores on campus as well. Having me, or any other considerably weak animal by their side is supposed to make them stronger, which helps them in this sick, twisted competition. I'm like a prop they use to make themselves stronger…. I wanted to punch the mirror in that moment but knew it would slice my hand up pretty bad.

They're more than willing to use me, and I utterly hate that.

Contrary to their selfish, self-serving beliefs, being naturally weak sucks. Male herbivores take one look at me and think "I need to protect her. She's so weak and precious, like a glass doll. I have to keep her safe". But it's not for my sake; it's never for my sake. And on top of that, carnivores see me and think I'm an easy meal cause I can't fight bad. It's horrible because either way, I lose. Being weak has never advantaged me in my life; not once. I'm just so sick as being seen as helpless, little girl. I may be a lamb, but I'm not just a lamb. My physical feebleness doesn't define me- I won't let it!

Upset, I snatched up my backpack and marched straight outside. It was dark out by now- very dark. This made me pause for a moment as I formulated a plan in my head. I may not want my lack of strength to define me, but I also have to remember that I am a lamb. And there are some very large predators around. Hmmmmm, maybe this wasn't my best idea ever; and especially when a student recently died here on campus too. Ok, I'll stay on the stone pathway and not make a sound. I can rush back to the dorm house safely if I try and be super careful.

With a deep breath in, I decided upon this strategy and took my first step onto the path. I had no clue at the time that this walk home would drastically change my life, both for the worst and absolute better.


	6. When Wolf Meets Lamb

Christian's P.O.V.-

I'd been pacing outside the stadium's doors for what felt like an hour now. Seriously, how long are they gonna practice for? We're gonna get caught. I did a double check just to make sure no one- particularly no teachers- were around. "Nugh, coach is going to kill us," I rubbed the back of my neck. It was getting pretty late; the surroundings already had the evening dew on them from the day's humidity. I realized why no one was around; curfew was at eight, after all. Even we'd be in hot water if we were caught out here, incidentally breaking curfew. Man! Why'd Paul rope me into this? He may be the quarterback, but couldn't he have at least waited until tomorrow morning to do this?

My god, you can't imagine how uptight and nervous I got when a sudden rustle of some leaves echoed from the distance. I straightened up like a shot, instantly spinning my feet around to give me full view of the courtyard. Nothing. Being a wolf and therefore nocturnal animal, I had better eyesight at night than most. I had to make myself relax when I saw zero animals in the vicinity. All this did was make me wish Paul and Rob would hurry the hell up. But oh, it got so, so much worse.

Soon following the twig snapping were the sounds of these tiny, little footsteps- like baby footsteps. It sounded like whoever it was, was trying to intentionally be quiet. Not a bad strategy if they're like us and breaking curfew. I wasn't really worried since a teacher would most definitely make their presence known, until….

My dear god… It was like this pink aura was suddenly streamlining through the evening air. Pink… That's the best way I can describe it. Being a wolf also heightens my sense of smell, which picked it up immediately. My head slowly, slowly turned in the direction where it was coming from. It was such a vivid scent that I could almost visually see it. Like a river flowing from a spot on the other side of the courtyard on the pathway…. The sweetest, purest, most alluring smell I'd ever experienced. It was already my favourite scent without my realizing… I calmly breathed it in, and the pinkness filled me- it touched me in the most intimate way. It caressed and entered every fibre of my being. I became pink inside… Pink and smelling of perfection.

It was the most perfect scent to ever exist; my own personal drug. And I knew right then and there that I would never, ever have enough.

It didn't hit me right away; I was so absorbed in the sensation, the elation of inhaling such pink perfection. But soon the logical part of my mind kicked into gear and I knew… this scent, this glorious smell- it was from an herbivore. My frikin god, I'd never smelt anyone like that before; I didn't know angels went to our school. But the smell did something else to me; something not so desirable.

I suddenly felt the blood throughout my entire body begin to boil; I felt like a boiling pot of water was poured inside of me. Every muscle tensed on its own accord. It was as if my body was contracting with itself. I growled, trying to regain control of my limbs. It was painful- really painful. But it was more agonizing when I fought it. This… I abruptly grasped with total horror. This was my instincts flaring up. That scent…. That perfect smell permeating the air… It was sending me right into beast-mode.

Perhaps that's why I don't quite remember the next few seconds, although I have a pretty good idea of what happened. Whoever was walking along the trail suddenly stopped and I knew that they knew I was there. I could smell their fear… My feral instincts went into overdrive at this. I'd never smelt anything so perfect before… So….

Delicious.

She. It was a she. And she was a lamb. No one her natural scent was so intoxicating. Seeing her in the flesh made things a thousand times worse. My arms and legs took on a life of their own. Before I cognitively knew what was happening, she was running away from me and me….. I was charging at full speed towards her. I'd never ran faster in my life; I could have cared less how noisy I was. All that my brain could focus on was her- this helpless, delicious lamb- and how she was going no one.

I actually leapt at her when I was close enough. I didn't pin her to the ground, instead wrapping both arms around her small body. We collided with such force that we actually knocked over to the ground. There, I held her so close, so tight in arms, unwilling to let her even wiggle. My head was besides hers, resting on her shoulder; both of our eyes were gigantic. For a minute, she didn't scream or cry; I think she was too stunned at what was happening. And when my feral instinct started to subside, so was I. Still, I didn't let her go. I couldn't…. Both our hearts were beating so loudly that you could hear them.

What's happening to me? Why can't I control my own body? I should release her, but I can't; my arms won't let me. She's so petit and warm. I love the way she feels in my arms; I'd never felt anything like this before. But it's wrong…. This is wrong. I can feel my arm getting damp from her heavy breathing. Beneath these clothes, just how much…..? What I would give just to have a taste…..

It was around this point that she started to scream and call out for help. I had to cover her mouth with one of my hands. This really set her into panic-mode; I felt her move a lot in my arms. Not that she could break free from my iron grasp; I was so, so much stronger than her, this lamb. While she trembled, my other hand started to gently caress the side of her forearm. So soft, so tender….. so mouth-watering. I wanted to stop but I physically couldn't; by body had regained control of itself. This made me curse my own strength for the millionth time. Dammit all, stop! Stop touching her, hand! Let her go, for god's sake! What are you going to do with her, now that you have her? Why don't you just let go?! Am I… Am I really so much… of a monster as this?

_Kill her. _My head perked up in horror. That voice….. that was my voice! An inner voice deep buried inside of me. The predator voice I'd repressed for years; I haven't heard it since I was little! I won't let myself hear it! This sicko continued to speak to me as I tried so hard to push him out. _You're doing the right thing. Kill her; do it quickly. _No! No! I can't… I won't! I'm not you! I'll never be you! I'm no monster lurking in the darkness, hunting innocent lives. _Oh, but you; you most certainly are._ _You've struggled like this for so, so long. You've reached your limit, I'm afraid._ No, I haven't! Nothing and no one could ever make me reach that limit! I will never murder with my own hands- wolf or no wolf! I do not kill, end of story!

_Why do you still deny who you really are? You are a wolf, and wolves hunt lambs._ Never! _You've suppressed yourself ever since you were young; hiding your true strength from the world. Use it now- show me your true might by devouring this girl. Eat her; tear her flesh off. _No, I refuse! No matter how much you beg; no matter how much you pled, I'll never give in to temptation! _Doesn't that frustrate you? Aren't you sad, never being truly satisfied?_ "Stop!" I gasped out loud, which I'm sure confused the lamb. I know she knew I wasn't talking to her per se. But the sinister predatory voice inside my mind wouldn't relent.

_No, maybe you are not sad or frustrated. Maybe… you are overjoyed from the bottom of your heart, to finally have the perfect prey here in your arms._ "Stop… stop it! That's not it at all!" _Look at yourself; try as you might, you cannot escape who you are. You can't run away from yourself. This side of you will grow hungrier and hungrier._ "No, it won't! Shut up! Do you hear me? Just shut up!" My eyes winced in the most desperate way possible. _It looks like you are ready. And now, this is where the fun starts. Open your mouth and bite down- bite hard! Do it in one mouthful._ I can't… I can't do it! Why does it have to be this way?! Why do I always crave….? _For seventeen years now, you've waited patiently, yearning for this taste. _No! No way! It doesn't matter how much I want to try…. I can't kill her! She's an innocent girl, and I'm just…. _Eat her! Eat her!_

That's when I felt my fingernails, which are more like claws- let's be honest- start to dig into her arm. She jolted in pain and a new wave of fear. My body was still in beast-mode so I couldn't retract my hand just yet, but then… a miracle.

"Christian!" Rob's voice hollered from the stadium doors. Thank goodness, that ended everything. I regained complete control of my body. Both my hands instantly retracted, releasing her right away; my one hand was stained with her fresh blood. She let out a sharp wheeze, immediately making a run for it away from me. She accidently- or perhaps intentionally- kicked me weakly in the process. The trail of pink lingered behind her as she ran. I watched her frantically sprint across the yard and into the nearest building with humongous eyes, as it slowly hit me what I'd done. I almost… I almost killed her! While I was sitting there in utter shock and disgust with myself, Rob rushed over to me.

"Dude, we gotta go! Paul saw one of the janitors in the aisles!" Go….? My eyes lifelessly gazed up to Rob's panicked face. T-that's…. that's right, I'm supposed to being watch for them…. Rob blinked down at me confused. "Wait, what are you doing, Christian? Did something happen?" Did something happen? I carefully stood back up, still getting used to the ability to control my body again. My eyes were low and I didn't even notice that one of my hands were red. I thought I should say something but couldn't think of the right words. What was I to say? I can't mentally comprehend what just occurred, or how enraged I am with myself.

But before Rob could say anything, we heard the door slam shut. We looked to see Paul darting towards us, motioning with his finger for us to be quiet. "We gotta get outta here," he exclaimed in a whisper when he reached us. "Ok, let's go," Rob nodded. I didn't do anything. Or at least I didn't until Paul patted me on the shoulder. I suddenly turned at the feeling of being touched, and stared at him with wide, alarmed eyes. He smiled at me. "Thanks for keeping watch, Grey." No response. "Christian?" His eyebrow lifted. "O-oh! Uh, n-no… no problem," that voice now sounded foreign to me. He relaxed his face muscles a bit. "Did everything go alright?"

When he asked me that, I had to hide my hand behind my back as I suddenly remembered the bloodstain. "Y-yes….."


	7. The Aftermath Of An Attack

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

I couldn't stop running the whole way home; I didn't even notice that my arm was bleeding. Nothing went through my mind just then- the sole thought, instinct I had was to simply run. Run as fast and as far as I can. And I didn't slow down when I entered my dorm house either. No, instead I raced up the staircase, almost tripping along the way. I shakily unlocked my door and burst inside. It slammed hard behind me; I made sure to lock it immediately.

My breathing grew deep and slow. My legs were so exhausted that my back fell up against the wood of the door for support. My hand lifted up to my beating chest; it felt like my heart was going to fall out of me onto the floor. Everything was numb; my body was so frozen in the purest, most unadulterated terror. The worst terror an animal like me can feel…. I gradually comprehended what happened to me. My lips parted so I could gasp. I… I was almost eaten alive tonight!

I know my logic may not be sound, but the mind does strange things under intense distress.

Him…. it's him. The guy who killed Tom! He's still on campus and almost got me! I think he was a wolf, or maybe a dog? I'm not sure, I didn't get a good look at him. He had a male voice so he must be a male. What should I do? If I go to the principal now, he might panic and shut down the school until the attacker's caught. But if I don't go, someone else might get hurt or worse, eaten. I don't know what I should do. If I don't go tell the principal, then I can't tell anyone what happened to me. I doubt he's a student but if he is, he might hear about me through the grapevine and try to find me again if he learns who I am. But then, what would he do to me if I did tell the school? No, I can't paint an even larger target on my back now- he knows I'm still alive and will probably be searching for me. I don't want to make him angrier than he likely already is at my escaping. I can't tell a soul- I must become invisible in school society. If he finds out I told the principal and he called the police and shut down the school because of me... No, I have to keep this to myself, at least until the end of the school year when I move away; far, far away. Until then, I have to act completely normal. I can't act more scared of predators than I am usually. I can't draw any suspicion to myself. After all, he almost killed me once; what's to stop him from trying again?

The very idea sent me trembling to the ground. There, in front of my door, I laid on the rough, uncomfortable carpet for I don't know how long. Long enough for my tears, sweat, drool, and blood to leave a stain. While lying there, I was in a sort of trance-like state, not thinking nor sensing anything. I was still so petrified…. What broke me out of this condition was the vibration from my phone. It took me a while, but I eventually reached into my backpack to retrieve it; I'm not entirely sure why I did this to be honest.

There were two unread messages- one from Kate and the other from Paul. [Kate: Hey girly. Just wanted 2 make sure u got home ok. U did the right thing not coming with us; Clarise's here with you-know-who. Gross. Let me know when u get back safe and sound! Love u!] That was Kate's message. Without responding, I opened Paul's text. [Paul: Hi Anny. Give me a text when you get to your dorm tonight. I've been on edge about you staying out after dark since Tom. In case I don't message you back, have a good night.]

They're both worried about me going out after dark alone, huh? My eyes lowered intently. They have no idea. I ended up not messaging either back. I instead put my phone on silent; I didn't dare turn it off in case I had to call campus security. On my nightstand it went. Then I made my way into the bathroom where I disinfected and dressed the wound on my arm. The shirt I was wearing was ruined, what with the large claw marks and blood stains all along the sleeve. I made sure to hide it in a closed, black plastic bag before tossing it into the trash. At last I got undressed and crawled into bed. I drew the covers up over my head. All I wanted to do was sleep.

Sleep and forget.


	8. Disgust and Regret

Christian's P.O.V.-

Last night was horrible. I couldn't sleep a wink; my head was too full… too full of disgust and self-loathing. What kind of monster am I? I didn't want to get of bed when my alarm went off. I wish I was in a cage; a cage that would keep me from ever doing something like that again. It would be so much easier…. Just to stay and rot behind bars, than ever harm another living creature. That is something I can never do again….

"Christian! Time to get up!" My neighbour and best friend, Jason, pounded on my dorm room door. Oh, fock; I forgot to lock the door last night. Within seconds, he came bursting in; he was more than a little surprised to catch me still in bed with the curtains shut. Of course he had to open them, letting horrid sunlight shine in. "Come on, man. You gotta get up. We gotta go eat breakfast before class." Eat…. No, I don't want to eat anything- never again if I can help it. "Christian? Oh, let me guess: you haven't prepared for today's history test. I told you to study yesterday, man." I totally forgot about that test, not that I care right now. I wanted to stay here in bed where I could be alone. Well, Jason was having none of that. He ripped the blankets off me and left them on the floor. "Get dressed. I'm hungry."

Jason wouldn't stop nagging me so I had to force myself to get up. Putting on my uniform was alright, but it really was a problem when I looked into my bathroom mirror. The figure I saw staring back at me wasn't myself but a demon, a killer…. a monster. He looked just like me only more sinister; the type of predator that would actually eat another animal. My heart started to beat super loudly again. Look at him- I hate him. I never wanted to be him, to look in the mirror and see…. I hate him; I hate him! He's everything I refuse to be! For a sheer minute, I let my rage get the better of me and I literally punched the glass. It shattered into a million different pieces, not that my hand was hurt. And that was just the start of a miserable day.

Jason and I went for breakfast with our small group of friends from our dorm house. The boarding school is prohibited from serving meat, so all the carnivores eat eggs and soy products for protein. We're supposed to eat all three meals in the cafeteria, where all the students gather. The cafeteria was huge, holding up to four hundred students. In the centre of the place was a massive oak tree which students could climb on. Jason and I sat at our usual spot near the tree, at a table almost underneath it. While the others were busy talking, I stared down at my food with dull eyes. Though I knew they were saying something, the world around me had become deafless.

My eyes rolled over to the white, breakfast roll on my tray. So white and fluffy…. I still remember the feeling from last night. I slowly brought up my hand to gaze at its palm; there was no blood on it now. Still, I was horrified at the sight. No, I can't touch it. I don't…. I don't want to hold anything soft. Soft like….

her.

"What did you just call me?!" Sudden yelling snapped me out of it, and everyone turned to the source of the noise. One guy, a hyena, was yelling at another guy, a lynx. It wasn't uncommon to see carnivores fight; the majority of campus fights were usually between two carnivores. Despite this, all present got quiet so as to listen to the pair shout at one another. "I call it as I see it, you dimwit! The next time you want to try and cheat off me, hide your copy of my notes a little better," the lynx countered. "Who said I was cheating off you?! You've got some nerve, you damn pussy cat!" "You seem to be getting pretty worked up there, laughing boy. Why don't you go have a nap?" The lynx added insult to injury by daring to smirk. Bad move.

Before we knew it, and even he knew it, the hyena bit the lynx in the arm. That was the turning point in the argument. The cafeteria suddenly erupted in screams and shrills. Smaller herbivores made a run for the exits while the rest of us started to congregate around the duo. That's how carnivores normally fight- with fingernails sharp as claws and teeth pointy like fangs. Anytime one animal bit another, the herbivores always freaked out, and I don't blame them. Meanwhile, the lynx began hitting the hyena on the top of his head in an attempt to make him let go.

"You bastard! Let go! Stop it! Stop biting me!" The lynx flung them both onto the floor. This only made the hyena sink his teeth into his arm harder. "Let go! Let go already!" "Shut up!" The hyena spat through his jaw. I ogled the two in complete horror; that familiar feeling of dread and disgust crept up the back of my spine. Biting… he's biting him. _Eat her; tear her flesh off._ I could hear my heart beating in my ears. "I'm gonna kill you!" The lynx shouted, finally yanking his arm out of the other's mouth. _You are overjoyed from the bottom of your heart, to finally have the perfect prey here in your arms. _This is sick- this is beyond sick. Our teeth weren't meant for this; not this. It can't be…. I unconsciously started to viciously growl. _Aren't you sad, never being truly satisfied?_ And once again, I felt that surge of boiling blood flow through each and every one of my veins. The blood… of a real predator.

"Knock it off!" I heard myself command in the most authoritative, most domineering, powerful tone imaginable. Now this caught everyone's undivided attention. Before I knew what I'd done, all eyes were suddenly and nervously locked onto me; the room was silent. It took a few brief seconds, but eventually I put the pieces together. My body straightened up as my eyes drifted off into nowhere in particular. Was… was that me just now? Did I really order them to stop so fiercely? I actually covered my mouth, afraid it might speak without my brain's permission again. "Seriously, Christian? What's wrong with you today?" Jason whispered over to me.

I didn't have time to answer. "What's your problem? You got something you want to say to me, wolf boy?" The hyena got up, angrily glaring at me for interrupting their fight. He stepped over my way. "N-nothing," I emitted with diminishing confidence. "You think that I don't stand a chance against you because you're stronger than me, is that it?" His hands balled into furious fists. I frowned, though raised up my hands as a sign of nonaggression. "Of course not," I sounded much calmer this time. All things considered, I actually did think that. I mean not only am I physically stronger, but my bite force is more powerful than his. It's no contest really; not that I'll let him know that. And naturally, he didn't buy what I was saying either.

"Don't give me that. I'm sick of you apex predators shifting your weight around here. If you have a problem with me, then why don't you take me on, wolf?" "I'm not going to fight you. I do not fight anyone." "Oh please, don't give me that bull. You're a carnivore and all carnivores love fighting. See? Bend down and let me see your neck- I'll show you," he smirked in the ugliest way possible. I was about to utter something in revulsion when….

"What is the matter with you?! Getting in a brawl in the cafeteria; there are herbivores present, you idiot." We all spun around to see Paul marching up to us, or rather the hyena and lynx. He shot them death glares as he came over to my side. That's when the cheers, mostly female, echoed through the room; I guess bystanders were relieved to see their star quarterback come onto the scene. "Oh, what do you want, long horn?" The lynx groaned upset. "We're a little busy here, your majesty, so if you don't mind getting lost…" The hyena tacked on. I merely observed Paul with the mind not to intervene unless necessary.

"Biting other students is against school policy, especially in front of herbivores. You should be thanking me I'm not reporting you low-lives to Principal Grinds right now," Paul asserted with conviction. The two carnivores growled, then the lynx smirked- an insidious smirk. "Oh yeah? What do you care? Who do you think you are, plant-eater?" "I think I'm the guy who's going to kick your ass if you ever pull a stunt like that again. Unlike you friendless losers, I have close acquaintances with a variety of species here on campus. I won't stand by and let you frighten them with your stupid antics."

The hyena and lynx seemed to be caught off guard by this declaration; even I was staring at Paul now with admiration. He seemed so calm, cool, collected, and composed. Or he did, until… The lynx smirked again; a very, very bad move. "You think cause you're the quarterback of a mostly carnivore football team, the "herbivore" label doesn't apply to you? Ha! What an idiot. You haven't got a clue! You, who skulks around with a whore!" The room was immediately full of "oooooohs" as Paul's eyes dangerously glared at the boy. I saw his hands roll into tight fists; they began to shake in apoplectic fury.

"What did you just call her?" I'd never heard Paul's voice so menacing. It's now that the guys realized their screw up. The lynx took an instinctive step backwards while the other guy tugged on his sleeve. "Dude, don't! You'll set off his protective-instinct!" He whispered not so discreetly. Paul took his time collecting himself before firing off another threating glare their way; he was inhaling really, really deeply. "I suggest you listen to me, cause I'll only say this once. Keep that trap of yours shut! The next time you bite someone, you will get suspended; I'll make sure of that. And if you ever call her or any lady a derogatory name again, I'll show what a real fight looks like. You got that, weakling?"

"Y-yes! W-we won't do that again!" They both nodded frantically. The rest of us gawked dumbfounded. We just witnessed a taste of the famous protective instinct. I almost thought Paul was going to slug that creep in the face, most likely breaking his nose in the process. But this… this was somehow so much scarier, and from an herbivore no less. It wasn't every day you saw a plant-eater make not one but two carnivores almost shit themselves. Seeing an opportunity, soon others began hurling insults down to the duo as well. "Get lost!" "Weaklings!" "Two losers walking!" "Piss off!"

"Let's get outta here," the hyena told the lynx. I suppose they were "friends" since they left together, being booed the whole way. Paul waited until they were gone before spinning his head to face me. He looked much calmer now, though not entirely satisfied. "You ok, man?" My body impulsively flinched as I recognized that he was now directly talking to me. "U-uh, yeah… yeah, I'm alright," my eyes lowered a tad. That's right, Paul was there last night; only, he didn't know… No one knows, but me and her. "Does that make us even for last night?" "Hmmmm? Oh no, Paul; really. I didn't mind….." That's not the part I minded.

Paul grinned at me, patting my shoulder. "You know, you shouldn't have to pretend to lose to morons like them. No one will think anything less of you, Christian, if you use your real strength for once." My real strength….? He says that, but it's entirely different for us. He only uses his strength to protect others- that's its purpose. But mine…. _Show me your true might by devouring this girl._

Mine is different.


	9. Awkward Encounters

Christian's P.O.V.-

Coach Lederhosen made practice extra-hard for the team today to make up for the ones that were cancelled. I did the drills with everyone else, but my mind was elsewhere. No, rather….. it's was like it was shut off. If I didn't think, I wouldn't have to worry about that sinister inner voice popping up. But then… I secretly worried that this was something I could never shut off; not really. I am a wolf, and wolves have eaten meat for millennia. It's only been recently that society has made the purchasing and consuming of meat illegal. I never pictured myself as someone who eats meat… but I wonder if that's my desperate attempt to neglect a sincere part of myself. I didn't care if that was the case, however. No matter what, I couldn't shake this overwhelming disgust and guilt pulsating through my being.

I didn't even flinch when coach angrily tossed a school newspaper down onto the grass, glaring at it with contempt. "What is this? Don't they have someone in that club who can write a decent sports article? And don't get me started on the pictures!" Ah, this again. Coach was ultra-proud of our school's football team and never missed a chance to show off, even if only to the other students. "Someone needs to go down to that clubroom and give them a piece of my, er our mind," he growled. I did peer up at the sound of coach suddenly stomping over to where I was sitting on the field. My head lifted slowly, though I didn't say anything. Coach just stared down at me with his fists on his hips.

"Grey! Foster! I want you two to go to that journalism club and tell the editor to compose another article, only good this time!" Coach barked at us. I looked at John Foster, one of our running backs and fox. "The journalism club?" Then it hit me; I suddenly remembered… "Uh, sir? That's an herbivore club, right? Should I… really go there?" I'm not sure if I was ready to be around any plant-eaters besides Paul yet. But coach was having none of it. "What are you babbling about, boy? I don't suppose you have prior engagements, hmmmmmm?" "That's fine, coach. Christian and I can go," John replied for me. I blinked back at him terrified, but coach seemed satisfied; he nodded approvingly. "Right! You two go and report back to me. Don't be afraid to give that lousy editor a rough time if she gives you any guff." That's mean, I frowned. We shouldn't be encouraged to bully other students, particularly herbivores.

The walk to the journalism club room was horrible. I dreaded each and every step. Just imagine, a wolf showing up and demanding they write another article; I wouldn't have thought twice about it before, but now… We knocked on the door and when no one answered, John opened it. Odd, it smelt vaguely familiar in there, though I'm sure I've never been inside before. There was a giraffe typing away at a laptop at the table in the room. He didn't pause to glance up at our arrival, finishing up his work inside. "I'll be right with you," he said calmly, not bothering to glance up at us. When he was finally done, he pushed back his seat a little and grinned at us.

"Can I help you?" "Hi there. We're from the football team. Coach Lederhosen sent us to ask if the journalism club could publish another article on one of our games in the next school paper," I let John explain. The giraffe rubbed his finger under his chin considering; his eyes roll off into the distance. "I don't know…. We're already promised to do a piece on the spring festival which will take a lot of time. I'm not sure; you'll have to ask our club editor." "Ok, where is he?" "She is outside in the gardens; you'll find her by the flowers. Now if you excuse me, I need to send this off to my co-writer," the giraffe turned back to his computer screen.

John frowned and we left the room. "Man! I didn't sign up for this wild goose chase," he crooned. Neither of us did, I concurred internally. "Now we have to go find this flower-loving editor princess. Coach will skin us alive if we don't." I couldn't argue with John there. Still, I hesitated. I did alright around the giraffe just now, so maybe it'll be ok. But I didn't trust myself enough just yet- not yet. And just like the first journey, each step towards the school's extensive gardens was worse than the last.

Finally, after what was too short of a time in my opinion, we reached the doors to the garden entrance. Admittedly I'd never been out here before, so I had no idea what to expect. The scent of fresh flowers hit us before we even opened the door. "Ah, the flowers smell so good!" John sighed wistfully. That's when it happened again… without any preparation or awareness on my part, that gorgeous pink scent reached my nostrils. Completely without thinking, I inhaled it as deeply and profoundly as I could, letting it touch every inch of me. I know this smell…. My eyes gently shut for a moment. I know this… I've smelt such perfection before. I could almost envision her in my mind's eyes, the smell was that potent. She was walking upon the flowers, letting their lovely scent cling onto her as well. Yes, I knew this girl, this herbivore…. My eyes shot open in shock and terror.

The lamb from last night! She's on the other side of the door! I took an instinctive step back, trembling all over myself; my arms shot out at my sides. No…. no! This can't be happening! I can't see her again, not like this! I only just attacked her last night! Neither of us are ready for this! I'm not ready for this!

"Christian? You doin' ok?" John's eyebrow raised to me as he was totally unaware. When I did literally nothing, he shrugged and opened the door. It slid open to reveal what appeared to be heaven- heaven because there was an angel inside. There, surrounded by nothing but the purest of white, was she. She. The source of the most perfect scent to have ever existed. I couldn't believe my eyes, she looked so… so… so…. Long, brown hair; a slender figure; extraordinary pale skin; lips red as roses; and skin as soft as a new-born's. So this, I slowly began to realize, is what perfection looks like.

She looked at me with growing, alarmed eyes. Did she… did she recognize me?! But that fear subsided when her face relaxed and she actually grinned at us; albeit a tad forced. That's when I also noticed how small she seemed to me. Small and helpless….. A real lamb in every sense of the word. The garden of heaven suddenly turned into the garden of hell.

"A-are you looking for me?" Her voice was a bit shaky, because of course it was. The last thing she needed right now was to be in the presence of an apex predator. My being here must have been triggering enough for her as is. This is bad; I have to get out of here! John though… "Are you the editor for the journalism club?" He asked her, taking a step forward. This made my heart leap up into my throat. No, don't! Don't go any closer to her- stay away! She doesn't need us coming any nearer to her.

"I am," her head cockled a little. "Oh, good. The giraffe said you'd be out here." "Giraffe? Oh, you mean Jose! Is this about the journalism club?" John nodded. "Yes. Our coach has asked us to ask you if you can write an article about our next game for the school's paper; he's kinda insistent on it." "W-what? But we just wrote one. He wants another so soon….?" Her hand raised up to her chest. If I didn't know any better, I could have sworn that she kept discreetly glancing my way every minute or so. "Hey, it's not up to us, girly. Just write the article, ok?" John's hands went up into the air. "But what about my other projects? We're already swamped as it is," she protested, and I couldn't fight the urge but to side with her. "Look, what do you want us to do? Tell the coach you said no? Tell him yourself if you're serious," I didn't like the tone of John's voice just now. She's doing the best she could, after all….

The lamb thought for a second, then let out a sigh. "Fine. Please tell your coach I'll consider it." "You hear that, wolf boy? She said she'll consider it," John gave my back a light whack. "T-thank you," without realizing it, I spoke my first words to her. God dammit, Christian! What are you doing?! I suddenly scolded myself. I almost ate her; I have no right to look at her, let alone speak to her! What the hell is wrong with me?! It made things a thousand times worse when I caught her looking at me again.

"Are you… both on the football team?" Her tone was kinder now. I was too petrified to respond while John nodded his head. "What? You mean to say you've never been to one of our games?" He added a smirk alongside this. She immediately blushed slightly and spun her head away. No, don't do that; don't blush all cute and wonderful like that! Good god, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life…. well, second hardest aside from not devouring her alive last night. "W-what kind of article does your coach want me to write?" "Why don't you take this one, howler? I'm gonna head back," John gave me one last nudge before spinning around.

I instantly perked up in sheer horror. What?! Me? Her? Out here…. alone?! Oh, no; no, no, no. That can not happen! "John, where are you…?!" My cry was cut off by John winking her way. "Good luck, lamb cake." And then… the door was shut. The door was shut?! I actually pressed both my hands frantically against the metal, praying he'd come back. Damn that John; why'd he just up and leave like that?! What's he problem?! Doesn't he know that I'm a wolf and she's…. a lamb? She….. I very hesitantly peered back at her from over my shoulder. She was still standing there, watching me intently. To my absolute confusion, a smile bloomed across her lips. It was small but I could tell it was genuine- at least part of it. To have someone like her smile at a monster like me…. It's moments like this that profoundly change individuals' lives.

Neither of us said anything for a moment and she turned slightly towards the flowers. "So, you're on the football team? That must be fun; I have a friend on your team." Don't speak to her… Don't speak to her; she'll recognize your voice. "U-uh, y-yeah…." Dammit, Christian! To be honest, I don't think I've ever had a proper conversation with an herbivore like her before. Everyone I deal with is always so much stronger…. Compared to me, she was like a tiny baby. That only set me more uneasy; what could she do, if I should ever again…

I had to shake my head, trying so hard to banish any sort of thoughts like those treacherous ones. She looked confused by this. "Are you alright?" "I… I…. I…." Oh no! She might have caught me accidently staring at her! Nugh, why does everything I do feel like the wrong thing now? The best thing would be to get the hell outta here and away from her. The last thing I want to do is ever frighten her again. But….

But she didn't appear scared; more puzzled than anything. "You look… familiar." "Huh?!" Oh, shit! Shit, shit, shit! Now what?! What do I do or say?! Should I break down and apologize? Grovel at her feet? What should I do? Dear lord, what should I do?! "What year are you in?" "U-um, s-senior year!" I can't believe how afraid I sounded. Her head cocked a tiny bit. "Me too. Do we… have any classes together?" "N-no! I-I don't… think so!" "Hmmmm, never mind then. It's just something stupid," her grin returned; her body, although still somewhat tense, was less so. As for me, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on.

Ironically, the most natural-seeming thing to do now was to keep talking. Now, I know that's the exact opposite of natural, but it felt like it would look suspicious if I up and left now. I wanted to ask her something, but nothing personal so to make her nervous. "A-are you and Jose the only members of the journalism club?" My mouth shyly asked without my brain's permission, again. "Oh no; my friend, Kate, is also a member. Plus there are a few more first and second years. We're not as big as the football team, though."

She's talking to me with such ease, although I can still tell she's a little nervous. But not… a prey kind of nervousness. No, this was different. I couldn't put my finger on it, but this was definitely different. Miles away from the fear she had last night. I wanted to keep the conversation going; I wanted to hear her voice some more. Her angelic voice…..

"Y-you like flowers?" That's a real dumb question- of course she likes flowers if she's out here. But I couldn't think of anything else non-personal to ask. Her smile widened as her head lifted back to me. "I do; I've always liked flowers and meadows… maybe it's a lamb thing," her eyes lowered softly. When I didn't verbally reply, she continued gazing back at the blossoms. "They're weak… like me. I guess I see myself in something like flowers; weird as that sounds." I see, so she's aware of her own weakness. I guess she would have to be, especially after something like yesterday. Yesterday…

My eyes glided over to the white bandage all over her arm. Yes, she is weak… and I'm strong. The memory of me grabbing her flashed through my head. I lifted the hand that clawed her so I could see it. I'm dangerously strong. My hand rolled into fist. I lowered it and slowly straightened up.

No, don't ask her anything; don't bring it up. "Um….. well…..?" No! What are you doing? Stop! What's the point of asking her? Stop it! "Your arm…." Hey! Why won't you stop?! Shut up, you idiot! "What happened to it?"

This perfect lamb gawked up at me for a minute as if trying to think of what to say herself. While I was in the middle of a mental breakdown, she then looked down at her bandaged arm; her eyes grew narrow. "Oh, this? U-uh… I uh… I fell down the stairs at my dorm house last night. I-it doesn't hurt much! I-I just scratched it a little; that's all," I know she sounded carefree for my sake. She's lying to me. Why would she do that? Does she… really not remember anything from last night? Or does she remember and is terrified I might hurt her again if she tells the truth? But…. no, I don't think that's it. I doubt she knows it was me; if she did… the image of me almost biting her zoomed through my mind. If she knew, she'd be running by now.

And I found it the strangest thing. What she said doesn't comfort or torment me… Her face kept reappearing in my head no matter what I did; several images of her gentle self. It's just that…. I can't avert my gaze. Seeing her, being near her… I'd never felt this way about anyone before; I didn't know it was possible to feel this way. All of this made me want something else- this was also a new experience for me. I want…. I want… She looks at me and I just want to talk to her some more. I mentally kicked my brain for what must have been the millionth time that day.

But I can't! No matter how much I might want to, it would be weird for a wolf to ask her that. On top of which, I might scare her. Still, I couldn't bring my legs to start walking away from her. She's here and I want to be where she is. I just want to talk to her; hear her voice. No voice sounds like hers- it makes me want more. But I can't just say "I want to talk" when I've barely done any talking thus far. It's her I want to do the majority of the talking… Ugh, this is horrible! My hands brought up to my head, making her blink startled. My eyes winced shut in agony. As usual, I'm screwing everything up when it comes to weak herbivores. Oh, but she's so much more than that.

So, so much more.


	10. Complicated Emotions

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

My heart froze when I first saw him. I didn't even notice the other presence beside him- all my attention was on the taller, much stronger beast standing in the doorway. The wolf!

I'm going to die, was my initial thought but I quickly remembered my decision from last night. No… no, I don't think it's him, I slowly grasped. He's still a wolf, yes, but… There's something about his face- something kind, something warm… He didn't look like a killer to me. In fact, he looked… kinda cute; handsome in a regel sort of way. Is that weird? Surely, after what I went through last night. But I couldn't help it; that's just the way I saw him, irrelevant of how I felt. I guess it was instinctual or something. Animals my age are still getting used to all that sort of stuff.

I tried- poorly- to make small talk with him after the fox left. He seemed super nervous for some reason; probably could smell the blood on my arm. I had to lie and tell him that I tripped on the stairs- not the most convincing story I could have conjured up, but I didn't know what else to think of. In reality, it should have been me who was trembling all over myself, but… I didn't. I just….. didn't, again for some bizarre reason. Don't get me wrong! I was still a little afraid to be alone with him, but not to the point of running away. Just that regular fear weak herbivores have around large meat-eaters like him. So was I nervous? Yes. Did I feel like I was going to die anymore? No, not exactly. Ok, just relax, Anastasia; you can do this.

I smiled at him as genuinely as sheepishly possible. He flinched and averted his gaze…. oddly enough. "I can't promise anything, but I will try to get the article done," I didn't really want to write it, but I didn't want to get this wolf into any trouble. Funny; that concern wasn't on my mind when discussing with the fox earlier. But the notion of the wolf getting slack on my account…. That didn't sit right with me. Strange; all these feelings were totally illogical and new to me. I guess my brain was still short-circuiting after all that trauma yesterday.

His eyes grew like I said something upsetting; his hands flashed out in front of him as if to show non-aggression towards me. He doesn't need to do that, my head tilted a slight bit. He would have attacked me by now if he was aggressive, wouldn't he have? "D-don't worry about it! D-don't trouble yourself!" He sure is stammering a lot; boy, he is edgy around me. Like he's walking on eggshells or something. I felt almost kind of bad for him; I bet he's not used to dealing with herbivores like my species. Why would he be? Still, he seemed nice enough… nice and considerably handsome, for a wolf.

No! My brain kicked itself on its own accord. Stop that! You can't think of a carnivore as "insanely handsome"; that must be against the laws of nature. Plus you were attacked by a similar carnivore just last night. The last thing you need to be getting chummy with an alpha male. Huh… I scanned him over a bit curiously, lifting my hand up to the side of my cheek. Yeah, guess he is an alpha male…. An alpha wolf talking to a little, delicious lamb. Yeeeeeeah, I can see the problem here; and so will others if they see us. But I didn't really care about that too much shockingly. I think it would hurt his reputation more than mine- or what's left of it.

"Um, s-so are you going back to practice then?" "I-I…. I… I think I should, yes," he nodded, still refusing to look me in the eye. He must not want to frighten me- poor guy. He can't help being a wolf, after all; just as much as I can help being a lamb. I should try and make him feel better. It's not like he killed Tom or attacked me last night. I smiled, for real this time, and stepped nearer to him. He clearly was freaking out at this, immediately backing away from me. His back was pressed up against the metal door with his claws almost digging into it. I could hear his breathing from here.

"Don't worry. It's ok," I tried to be as sincere as possible. I really did want to ease his stress, to let him know that I trusted him; or as much as I could trust a predator like himself. His eyes went wild when my hand reached out to gently touch his arm; only with the fingertips, mind up. My own eyes lowered a bit; my grin widening. "It's ok, really… I-I'm ok. I-I'm not afraid," yeah, sound less confident while saying that why don't ya? Of course he didn't believe me when I used that shaky tone. He yanked his arm away and spun to hastily open the door with both hands.

"I-I'll be on my way! Thank you for your time!" And just like that, the wolf was gone. What the heck was that all about? I scratched my head slightly confused. Did my being a lamb really make him that jumpy? I suppose that could be the case with most strong carnivores; I don't know any apex predators, so how would I know? Maybe all the meat-eaters are on edge since Tom's death. Then again, I heard there was a fight in the cafeteria earlier. Who knows? All I know is that a very strong and mighty predator like him just ran away from a weakling. Strange- very strange indeed.

And why do I still think he's attractive?!

Christian's P.O.V.-

I leapt all the way down the staircase, not stopping until a wall made me come to a halt. I placed both my hands on it while I exhaled heavily. Then, once I had my breathing somewhat under control, my hands went to press onto my fluttering chest and sinking stomach. Wha-… What the hell was that?! W-what did I just experience? The girl I attacked last night… she touched me! It set my senses in a whirl and I didn't know what to do with myself, so I left. I may have left a little abruptly- oops. That wasn't my intention, but I had to get the heck outta there. There's now a new problem: I clearly enjoyed that way, way too much. I shouldn't have liked being near her as much as I did; and forget hearing her voice and feeling her soft, delicate hand on me…. This is so, so wrong! I can't believe how incredibly twisted and wrong this is.

"Christian?" I glanced over my shoulder to see John coming up from the lower steps of stairs. He gave me a confused glance. "What are you doing? Where's the lamb?" The lamb; lamb and her prefect scent…. "Hey, you! Why did you leave me all of a sudden?!" I suddenly found my dominate, carnivore voice again. John paused for a minute, watching me before sighing. "Well did you smell her? I mean, I'm only mortal. Dude, she was bleeding and everything." So he could smell it too, her blood? Why does that surprise me? He is a fox- he has a carnivore's nose. "You shouldn't have left like that! How was she supposed to feel, being left alone with a wolf like me?" "Dude, calm down," John rose up his hands. "Don't tell me to calm down! I wasn't the one who had an apex predator show up out of the blue in my safe spot! You should not have left me alone with her," I pointed my finger downwards for emphasis. My voice was gradually raising with the tension. John's hands unhurriedly lowered while he eyed me, a bit suspiciously now. I'll be the first to admit that I was letting my temper get the better of me.

"Bro, did….. anything happen just now?" John inquired quieter. My eyes grew, then instantly lowered; I gazed off to the side. "No, not really…" "You sure? You skipped like four steps running down the stairs, so I thought something bad must have happened." "No, it didn't. I just….. I just…" Oh great, how do I explain this one? I didn't realize I was running that fast. "Does this have anything to do with the rumours floating around among the herbivores? Gasp! Wait, are they true?! But….. no, you're a wolf." "What are you talking about? What rumours?" "You know…." His eyes relaxed as a side smirk slithered across his lips. "No, I don't," I frowned. What rumours? Someone's spreading rumours about that pure, innocent creature?! My eyes flared up with reactionary rage, which John missed entirely.

"Well, I'm not gonna say. The last thing I need is Paul on my back," he straightened up, his smirk disappearing. Paul? What does Paul have to do with anything? Why would he be upset? I should make a list of how many unanswered questions I have. But I wasn't happy with what John just told me- not at all. I didn't hesitate to send him a glare which was honestly a tiny bit threatening. John understood immediately, his foot stepping backwards.

"Listen to me. Don't go spreading anything you hear about her, you got that? She seems like a really kind girl at heart. The last thing she needs is more stress at this school. Got that?" John's mouth opened but no words came out; not right away anyway. He just…. gaped up at me bewildered. "O-ok, I-I won't." Good, that's one less guy she's got to worry about talking smack behind her back. Who would do such a thing? She's the sweetest, softest girl's I've ever met. But… really, I don't know anything about girls- carnivores or herbivores. I mean, I've never been in a relationship. Not that I could ever get in a relationship with someone like her! Society would never allow such a thing; hell, my own instincts wouldn't even…. irrelevant of what I may want.


	11. To Be Male

Christian's P.O.V.-

I felt weird since that interaction. I couldn't put my finger on it. Something was definitely going on inside of me, but I couldn't figure out what. Whatever it was, it made me a better football player. Coach actually complimented me for a change, saying that he hasn't seen me play that aggressively before and to quote "keep up the good work". It's strange; I wasn't trying to play any harder or different than usual. I guess there was a sort of lack of awareness going on between my brain and body. "Man, I would love to play like you! If only someone would make that damn instinct kick in with me," one buffalo sighed longingly next to me. Instinct? What is he talking about? As usual, I didn't feel fit to ask; I'm sure it's an herbivore thing.

I did observe, however, that whatever this feeling was, it got stronger whenever I saw flowers. Any variety of flowers. I found myself pausing on my feet's own accord when I once spotted a bush of roses out one of the windows. There I stood staring at the blossoms, enveloped in this new, weird sensation. How odd…. Always when I look at fauna, it unconsciously and unintentionally surges up inside me. I have no clue what this response is or what it means, but it's there. And it doesn't look like there's anything I can do about it.

For a while, I considered telling or asking someone about it; perhaps Jason or Paul. It could be a carnivore instinct I'm growing into, but I don't know which instinct this could be. And if that is the case, Paul wouldn't be able to help me. In the end, I decided to keep my mouth shut and retain it to myself. I had no idea how to bring it up anyway; I literately couldn't describe it to myself, so how could I to others? No, this is something I've gotta figure out on my own, in time I guess. All in good time.

Answers came shockingly soon. We had a big game coming up; our team versus our school's reveals, the Chargers. Coach drilled us extra hard and everyone was pretty tired of it. Even Paul swore under his breath after finishing the many laps we were made to run. But practice couldn't go late today. The team was in the changing room when the intercom came on. "Attention all students! A reminder that today is Environmental Day! All students who have not yet finished their environmental time must head to the Unity Centre immediately!" A collective groan filled the room.

That's right, I forgot it's Environmental Day. Once a week, all students are required to spend two hours in tailored environments. It was supposed to be healthy for us and help our natural, diverse instincts develop organically. The Unity Centre is a gigantic building near the centre of campus. Each floor has several rooms; this is one area where segregation is strictly enforced. Each floor alternates between herbivore and carnivore habitats; there's even separate entrances and elevators. Nocturnal species had the bottom two floors which were located in the basement; one for herbivores and one for carnivores.

I went into the wolf habitat- a room solely devoted to a wolf's natural environment. Since we're nocturnal, it was dark inside, with a false full moon suspended high above us. Inside were a ton of male wolves and a few females. I didn't really know any of them- surprisingly enough- so we just sat in relative quiet for the majority of the time. I never liked these sections. Phones weren't permitted, and we weren't supposed to do homework or anything. This was time meant to mingle with your own kind, grow bonds, and so on. If you ask me, this was the boringest part of my week every week. Just sitting on astroturf in the dark with a bunch of strangers for two gruelling hours. How this was good for me, I'll never know.

The only good side about being forced to sit there was it gave me ample time to think. Think about lots of things but mainly what the hell was going on with me lately. Perhaps this is simply a wolf thing and I'm still growing into my primal instincts. But….. would that mean that everyone else in here knows what I'm feeling? We're all around the same age and same species. What could it be, if it is a wolf thing? Let's see…. Wolves are strong, pack hunters, perceptive, have a very good sense of smell, can see in the dark, mate for life, have considerable lifespans… Wait.

Mate for life? My eyes widened a bit. It's true, we do… To be honest, I'd never thought about mating. I just assumed it would happen someday; I would meet someone and imprint on her eventually. It wasn't something I had to force or look for…. I figured I'd find the right wolf sooner or later. The act of imprinting… I have no clue what that would be like. How would I know when and if I've imprinted on someone? And what about the protective instinct? Would that kick in as well? That instinct is a pretty big deal in the herbivore world, but what about for us meat-eaters? We didn't learn about any of this at school, and it's not like I had parents to tell me.

I would know, wouldn't I? I did something I never usually do; I glanced around at all the girls in the room. I felt nothing for them, despite us being the same species. Funny, I've never looked at girls as "girls" before. I've been so preoccupied with keeping my carnivorous side under control that I've neglected any of… that. I guess what I mean is that I've always seen myself as a wolf before a male…

Hey, that's right- I am a male. An alpha male. In the old days, wolves like me would mate and go on to lead the pack. Nowadays, alphas are treated the same as everyone else. It doesn't matter if and who I mate and have children with. That's certainly something I've never considered before- it just seemed so far away. Besides, who has time to think about that when you're too busy trying to stifle your beast-mode? My eyes began to lower gently. Still…

I gazed up at the bright light shining off the fake moon. Without my trying, the lamb's face appeared in my mind out of nowhere. Wait, why am I thinking about her now of all times? Here, surrounded by other wolves… female wolves, and here I am, thinking of her. My lips parted a sliver. You know… this may sound utterly bizarre… but this is the first time I've thought of myself as a male- a proper alpha male. Since I was born, I've been a wolf before anything else; that's how I believed it had to be to keep my killer instincts under control. But… just like her and how she's so much more than just a lamb… I think I'm beginning to understand for the first time, that I'm so much more than just a wolf.

It must be true. I'm not just some monster lurking around in the darkness, pathetically waiting for prey to come by. No, I'm more than that. I'm a mammal, a carnivore, a canine, an alpha, and…. I'm also a male. At this enlightenment, I got up. I know it hadn't been two hours yet and I might get into trouble, but I didn't care. I didn't want to stay in this dark, silent, uncomfortable room anymore. I wanted to be in what was left of the day's sunlight. I wanted to be where I could see flowers.

Up the empty staircase I unhurriedly climbed. I finally found what I was searching for; a window overlooking the school's garden. I came up to it, placing both my palms on the stone windowsill. My eyes gently shut as I soaked in the sun's golden rays. Yes, I'm definitely feeling something; something new, something light and warm. It's almost like I can see myself….. like I've found somewhere bright where I want to stay. Like I can finally step forward for the first time in my life.

My eyes reopened so to stare outside at the sea of colourful flowers down below. I think….. I think I'm starting to get it now. I'm feeling happy- a happiness growing inside of me. My arms folded so they could rest on the sill, and I rested on chin on them. Then, I suppose I should come to terms with this other, accompanying feeling too… A gentle, small smile blossomed across my lips. Yes, I understand now. I am a male wolf…..

and this male wolf wants to see her again.


	12. Weird Feelings

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

We were eating our lunch outside in the meadow; students technically weren't supposed to eat outside the cafeteria, but they were always more lenient with weaker herbivores like us. Well, most of us.

The rest of the journalism club members were not happy with coach Lederhosen. In their minds, he had no right to demand another article from us so soon; especially with the spring festival coming up. We had more than enough work preparing for that on top of our usual load. But I volunteered to write up a small piece and fill in the blanks with a bunch of pictures. Despite everything, I don't want that hot wolf getting into trouble. Wolf! I mean just regular wolf… My eyes gazed off into space without my realizing. He is a wolf… an alpha wolf.

"Hello? Earth to Anny?" Kate's fingers snapping in front of my face broke my train of thought. My head dashed over her way as I blinked several times. "Huh?" "I just asked what you thought of our geometry test this morning." "What? Oh, it was fine." "Fine? We've been studying for that test for weeks and it only went "fine"?" What did she want me to say? It was fine- just fine. To be honest, I hadn't been thinking much about math right now. No, instead I've been feeling all weird lately. It only got worse whenever I thought about that hunky wolf. Regular wolf, I mean! God, what's wrong with me? Why can't I get that first interaction out of my head? Was it because he was a carnivore so much like the one who recently attacked me? Is this some weird kind of reverse Stockholm syndrome? There's definitely something wrong with me and I can't figure out what.

"Well, I think the test was pretty east," Jose grinned smartly. Kate fired off a look his way. "Course you did; you're like a math genius." "Hey! It's not my fault I study more and pay attention in class." "We do that too, don't we Anny? Anny?" I felt Kate's stare on me again. "O-oh yeah, we do…" This made Kate's face twist with a sort of concern. "Are you sure you're ok, girl? Gasp! Don't tell me… did Clarise confront you again?!" Clarise? Oh yeah, she was pissed at me… because her boyfriend "confessed" to me. How could I have forgotten about that conversation I had with her? _"Get this straight, lambchop! Stay away from my boyfriend! He's mine, got that?!"_ I forgot all about that confrontation….

For Kate's sake, I made myself visibly relax as I flashed her a forced smile. "N-no, she didn't. I'm fine; really. Just a little tired, that's all." "I don't blame you, what with dealing with that sadistic Lederhosen and those carnivores," Jose told me. "Carnivores?" Kate turned to me in confusion. Oh great, why'd he have to bring them up? Talk about awkward. Now I really had to force my grin. "Er, they're just some guys from the football team who asked about the article. Nothing happened; it went alright." "What kind of carnivores were they?" Before I could answer, Jose cut in. "A fox and wolf." "Did you say wolf?!" Kate gasped a second time. I internally winced. No, I really don't want to talk about him; I'm already feeling weird enough as it is.

"H-hey! Uh… uh… why don't we go see a movie tonight?!" I made my desperate attempt to change the subject. They both looked at me startled and mildly perplexed. "A movie?" "Y-yeah, tonight!" "I can't tonight. Got an English paper due tomorrow," Jose sighed like he was disappointed. That's good! We're moving away from you-know-what. I wanted to keep the ball rolling so I smiled once again. "That's ok. How about tomorrow night, or this weekend?" "We're going to Paul's football game this Friday night, Anny- remember?" Kate replied. "Football game?" This caught me off guard. She nodded. "You said you'd go." I did? That doesn't sound like something I'd do; I didn't like football in the least. But if it was for Paul, then…

"Speaking of Paul, where is the bastard? He said he'd come right after class," Jose glanced around. "He's probably busy with his football friends," Kate took a bite of her pickle and peanut butter sandwich; not a combo I'd ever choose. Then, like ironic clockwork, guess who showed up. "Hey, you guys!" We all glanced to see Paul approaching us, waving his hand in the air. I smiled and waved back while the other two gave him one of those "looks". "Sorry I'm late." "And where have you been? Shuffling through your scores of fans again?" "Not today," Paul laughed; he wasn't one to let Kate's humour get the better of him. Then he grinned warmly and came to sit down beside me. We looked at each other.

"Hey, Anny. I'm sorry about coach; he's been pissy since we lost to Stanford." "Oh….. oh, no! No, it's no trouble." "It kinda is," Jose rolled his eyes and I shot him a glare. Paul merely widened his grin and placed his strong hand on my forearm. "If you can't do it, don't worry. Just tell me and let me deal with coach, ok?" "Then he'll yell at you, Paul! I can't do that," I looked at him suddenly worried. He chuckled softly. "That's ok, so long as he's not yelling at you," as he said this, he moved his hand off my arm to brush a few stray hairs off my forehead. Paul… I watched him, unsure what to do or say next. He sure was touchy-feely with me lately; not that it was a bad thing! I wouldn't say that I minded, it just… confused me. And here I thought guys only touched girls they liked that way. But Paul was a friend only, right? _"What about Paul?! He's definitely got a thing for you!"_ Right?

We talked casually a bit longer about random stuff, then the bell rang- lunch was over. We all got up, put our trays inside, and started to head for class. Before I left however, Paul caught hold of my arm, making me blink back to him in surprise. "What?" I cocked my head with an awkward side grin. "Listen, Ana. There's something I want to ask you. Can…. we meet after school out by the large oak tree, alone?" Alone…. Wait, why should this bother me? Paul and I had been alone with each other hundreds of times. There's nothing wrong with that. I smiled up at him and nodded gently. This made a humongous smile also grow across his lips. He released my arm and took a step backwards. "Ok, then. After school by the oak tree." "I'll be there," I reassured him. We waved at one another before I spun back around and kept heading to class.


	13. A Small Request

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

Just as I promised, I came to the old, large oak tree on campus after the school day was over; we're technically not allowed to leave school grounds without written permission. Paul was already there when I arrived; he went from leaning up against the tree trunk with his arms folded to straightening up and smiling at me. I mirrored his pleasant expression, approaching him gently.

"Hi, Pauly. What's up?" "Not too much. Thanks for meeting me here," his grin grew. "So what did you want to talk to me about?" Paul didn't respond right away, glancing off to the side for a minute. His hand rubbed the back of his neck in an almost awkward- or shy- fashion. Paul, shy? Never. Still, he hesitated for a moment, like he was trying to formulate what he was going to say to me in his mind. Eventually his eyes shifted back to mine and we looked at each other again.

"You know we have this big game against the Chargers this Friday." "Yes, I'm going to watch it with Kate and Jose," I nodded. And I swear his eyes were burning a hole through me just now. But he chuckled a little and rubbed the back of his head once more. "Ah, you don't have to do that if you don't want to." "But I said I would," this made me blink in surprise. "You don't like football. Plus, would you even understand what's going on?" "I…. no, actually; not at all," he caught me; I know zip about the sport of football. Still, his mouth shut to a warm, tender smile. His eyes lowered onto me.

"It's alright, I won't mind if you don't come. But there is something I wanted to ask you." "What's that?" A pregnant pause. "I've never uh, done something like this before….." "Like what, Paul?" My head cocked a little curious. "I wanted to ask you, Ana, if… if I could wear your favour next game?" "My favour?" I straightened up in surprise. His head was somehow able to nod without breaking eye contact. His lips formed into a more serious and sincere line now. "I know I'll play much better if I'm wearing your colours."

Why would he play bet-….? Oh… oh. My mouth unconsciously drooped down to a frown. I know what this is; I know exactly what this is. And Paul of all people too. "Paul…" I said with disapproval. "It's not what you think. I don't want to wear it just to enhance my performance." "Sure sounds that way to me." His hands flew up into the air in front of his chest. "Ok, ok, I admit- it does help me play better. But that's not the only reason. The real reason is that it'll inspire me; wearing your flavour will just… make me feel better while I play. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to wear your colours out there; I want to show them off and tell everyone….." "Tell everyone what?" My eyebrow rose up. And Paul seemed so honest and genuine right then with the way he looked at me. "That before all others, I wear your colours. You're one of my best friends, Ana; that's inspiration enough for me."

I didn't know what to say just then. What reason was there for me to say no? Should I say no? Did Paul wearing my favour really bother me? Out of seemingly nowhere, the random of the wolf popped up in my head. Wait, my eyes widened slightly confused. Why am I thinking of him just now? He has nothing to do with this… does he? It's not like I wish he was the one asking me this…. No, that's just ridiculous. I think of any reason why I should deny Paul this one request. He was a very close and dear long-time friend of mine, after all. What harm is there in him wearing my colours on the field? I knew the protective instinct played a role here; thinking of me would make him play harder…. But it's more than that. I looked at Paul and knew there was more. He's my friend, I smiled at him. And I do have a soft, platonic spot in my heart for him.

Realizing that, my head nodded on its own accord.


	14. Tomorrow Night

Christian's P.O.V.-

"Alright, listen up, you pansies! To the great embarrassment of the whole school, we haven't won a game against the Chargers in almost two years. I'm not only counting but demanding that you change that at tomorrow's game. Tomorrow's our night, boys! You're gonna go out and give 'em what for! I wanna see sweat; I wanna see blood; I wanna see you give it a hundred and ten percent! Am I understood?!" "Yes, coach," we all groaned in unison. Nugh, games like this were the worst where coach got all personally invested. We were all feeling pretty miserable about the upcoming match- all except Paul. Despite everything, he seemed more relaxed than ever. "Don't worry, coach. We'll make you proud," he reassured coach Lederhosen. Paul is one of the only members on the team that coach will actually listen to. "That's the spirit! Now get a good night's sleep and get yourselves ready, men! Hustle!"

Coach left and we scattered around the men's changing room. Paul waved at me as he went into the showers. I was going to get changed into my jersey until an offensive lineman named Jack Hyde waltzed over to me. He was a tiger and fairly popular on the team; not as popular as Paul but well-regarded enough. He seemed to like me, probably because I was another strong carnivore; not as strong as Jack but still. His arm draped over my shoulder as he gave me a small, playful shake.

"What's with the gloomy look, wolf boy? Not afraid we'll lose, are ya?" "Not really," I responded truthfully; I couldn't really care less if we won or not, except for maybe the scolding we'd get from coach if we lost. "We'll win for sure. Coach has been drilling us like crazy this past week," Rod noted from the side. A few agreed with his statement. "Course we'll win. We have the best school team in ages. Besides, those Chargers are a bunch of wussies," Jack's hand went up into the air. More collective agreement to this statement. "We'll show 'em how strong we really are. There's no reason why us apex carnivores can't be in the spotlight for a change, right Christian?" Us… in the spotlight? I thought we already were whenever we stepped out onto the field. What else does he want? Isn't that enough? Why does our strength as carnivores need to be broadcasted? I just don't understand… why that's something we should be proud of.

I kept thinking about Jack told me on my way out of the changing room. It was dark out by now, but we still had half an hour before curfew. Still, I didn't doddle on my way back to the dorm house. There wasn't anything else for me to do tonight and besides… the last time I stayed out late, it didn't end well. I was on my way home before a familiar voice hollered out for me. "Christian!" I blinked to the side to see Alice rushing towards me. She was smiling and waving her hand in the air. "Alice," I greeted her friendly. "Just finishing up with football practice?" "Yeah." "Good. Wanna walk home together?" "Sure." Our feet proceeded forward again. Odd, she's an herbivore yet I don't feel so afraid of what I'll do around her. Not since the lamb have I experienced that kind of fear again….

"So much has happened this past month, huh?" Alice began. "Yes," I nodded. "I'm sure tomorrow night's game is going to be great." "You think so?" "Sure, don't you?" "I suppose so….." "Paul's an amazing quarterback, and you're amazing too!" I looked at her. She flashed me a brilliant, kind grin. "I know coach is tough on you guys; Tom used to tell me about it. But whether you're nervous or not, I know you guys will play fantastic tomorrow." "Thanks, Alice," I mirrored her gentle face. It's true, she's right. Tomorrow's just another game like any other; I don't see why I should be getting worked up.

Oh boy, how incredibly wrong I was. It was a game unlike any other, in all the worst ways imaginable.


	15. Fight

Christian's P.O.V.-

Coach yelled at us for almost an hour before we had to start getting ready for the game. The Chargers had arrived, and their coach was currently arguing with our coach about something stupid. Meanwhile, the rest of us were getting dressed and prepped for the starting whistle. I saw Paul had something like a scarf tied around his bicep; he wore whatever it was super proudly. "Hey, Clayton! Nice pink ribbon you got there!" An elephant teased Paul about it. I looked and realized something. It was the strangest thing; I could have sworn that the scent from the pink cloth he had on was familiar. Very familiar and wonderful… Pink- it smelt the same as its colour. It was faint, just enough for me to barely detect; certainly too faint to put my finger on the exact smell. But whatever it was, it smelt lovely even from here. Lovely, just like her….

That smell was immediately drowned out when Jack entered the room. He didn't smell like he did when he first got here; there was something different about him, something…. odd. It appears that I'm the only one to notice it too; none of the other carnivores even looked his way. Well, I suppose I am the only wolf and therefore have the strongest nose on the team. But Jack stared at me right away the moment I spun my head around. Neither of us were smiling, and my eyebrow raised suspiciously at him.

He must have known that I knew something was wrong since his eyes narrowed onto me. "What's wrong, Christian?" He had the gall to inquire. To show emphasis, I stood up, facing him head on in a dominant position; it's one I don't like to use around herbivores but he's a tiger. I think he knew that's why I was suspicious of him. "What's your problem, Grey? You're acting weirder than usual." "What's my problem? Why do you smell so…..?" That's when it hit me. That scent- that's something I've smelt before, recently actually. I know that smell…. and that's when I discovered the monster Jack truly was.

The offensive lineman had had enough. He shoved passed me, making his way towards the bathroom. I followed right on his heels, getting ready to demand some answers. The door slammed behind us, and I was angered that I could hear my heartbeat inside my ears. Who gives a damn if he's stronger than me? I wanted answers, and I wanted them now! Jack spun around to glare at me, also shifting into a predatory stance. "Seriously, dude? What's your deal? Why can't you just leave me alone?" "What's my problem?" My hand balled into a super tight fist. I took a threatening step towards him, literally not afraid of him at all. All the rage pushed out any fear I might have had.

"How dare you?" "What?" "How dare you bring that on school grounds? What the hell is the matter with you?!" Jack watched me for a very long minute before sinisterly chuckling. "No use hiding it from you, I see; not with that nose of yours. So you know what this is, do you?" I did… deep down I did, but I still prayed I was mistaken. My heart dropped out of my chest and onto the floor when he pulled up a vial from his back pocket. It was tiny but I could still see the thick, dark red inside. It only made matters worse when his smirk slithered wider in delight. He was clearly happy with himself.

"Beautiful, isn't it? You can try some if you want." "That's….!" I couldn't bear to say it; I didn't want to think it, I didn't want to believe it. "Lamb's blood- the tastiest blood in the animal kingdom," Jack proclaimed with vile. Now, I don't know what happened to me next; that was another experience I'd never had before in my life. My spine straightened up by itself, my arms fell down at my side. The world around me morphed to this thick, breathless red which was suffocating me. I swore my eyes were so concentrated that I thought they had visibly turned pure crimson. This wasn't lust or hunger I was feeling- oh no. This was different. This was new, this was burning hot….. and this was powerful.

Jack witnessed this transformation in me but didn't let it phase him. While I wasn't scared of him, he wasn't afraid of me either. "What's the big deal? It's not from a student or anything; I didn't even know the guy. A friend got it for me at the black market; thought it might help with tonight's game." Shut up, I don't give a fuck about your reasoning. My jaw clenched harder and harder. I didn't see that asshole just then; no, instead I saw only one figure. And she was standing among a sea of flowers. That could have been her blood….. Someone could have harvested her for her blood.

My brain officially shut off at this thought, letting my body take complete control over my actions. I marched forth without comprehending what I was doing. Then, without forewarning, I lunged at Jack. He gasped as I pinned him up against the wall using both my hands. I snarled in his face, more than ready to claw his eyes out. But he stopped me, grabbing hold my arms. "Wait, hear me out. Unlike you, who's content to live in the shadows, I want to live in the light! I didn't choose to be born this way! I never asked to be an apex predator! But what's wrong with that? It's just a stupid lamb! Why should I deny myself the most delectable food when it's right there for the taking? Consider this some real doping! All the great carnivores do it." Jack finished off by yanking me around and tossing me into the wall. I landed with a thud, still glaring daggers at him. But he shot me a warning look before leaving the bathroom. He left me there, and I was so enraged I thought I might die… The worst part? I hate him so much because I can see a piece of myself in him. The memory of catching the lamb that night flowed unwillingly through my brain like water. I'm a predator too, hard as I try to block it out…

But there's one difference between me and Jack. I will never, ever actively hunt prey again. Never.

The first half of the game was brutal and a blur to me. Gigantic lights kept shining on the field and the crowds were really noisy. Paul and the others seemed to be having a good time, but I found my attention keep shifting back to Jack. To Jack, and how much I wanted to hurt him. To rip that blood away from him before he could drink a drop. I'll skip to the part where shit hit the fan in the second half of the game; that's all I really remember from that match anyway.

Coach yelled at me to make a run, and I had to go passed Jack; it was the closest we'd been to one another since the bathroom. Jack glared at me through his helmet, which I returned. But when I failed to catch the ball and they moved closer, my body had enough. The last thing I saw was Jack tackle one of the other team's larger herbivores. As he stood up, I stepped over to him. I could hear this ringing in my ears, and it got louder and louder. Pissed off… Jack had just enough time to remove his helmet and turn his head towards me. So pissed off. My fist rose up into the air behind me. I can't believe how pissed off I am.

No one noticed right away when I punched Jack square in the face. It was with enough force to send him back a couple of steps, but not knock him over. He wiped off his cheek and looked at me so furiously….. His hands balled up as he brought them up in front of him. "So, this is how you wanna play, is it?" I responded by punching him again; this time harder. Nothing about this was playing- someone had to die for that blood you carry.

The second time, everyone noticed. There was a loud gasp from the stands. "Grey! Hyde! What do you think you are doing?!" Coach demanded from the side lines. Of course we didn't reply, only focusing on each other. I guess I hit Jack so hard that it flew the vial from out of his shirt onto the grass. I ignored it, taking in a deep breath as I walked menacingly in his direction. By now everyone had stopped playing and was watching us with huge, dumbfounded stares. "Ok, Grey. I get it; you're serious about this," he said with zero remorse. This bastard… I proceeded to tackle him to the ground where I prepared to beat the ever-living shit out of him. "I'll never forgive you!" I growled, raising my fist up high.

Each time I hit him, a picture became clearer in my mind. More distinct…. She- she was there. I could see her; I wanted to see her. The lamb's back was turned to me with her head slowly spinning so she could look over her shoulder…. I see her…. I can see her. She's….

I was able to get a few good hits in; the audience shrieking each time I landed a blow. Jack didn't put up with that for long though, throwing me off him much too soon. "Christian! Jack!" "What are you doing?! Stop it!" "What's wrong with them?!" Members from both our and the Chargers team were calling out. "Someone, stop them!" "No, don't get any closer! They're apex carnivores, don't forget!" "Yeah, it's not safe!" Jack and I kept beating the crap out of each other with everyone around us too terrified to intervene. Someone did intervene eventually however, and you can guess who that was.

"Stop it! Stop it! What's wrong with you guys?!" Paul was the only one with the courage to get in between us. "Out of my way, rhino," Jack hissed; he looked like he was ready to kill me now too. "Stop it, Jack! Christian, are you ok?" Paul's head spun to me. I growled, wanting nothing more than continue this; I was not grateful whatsoever for Paul's interruption. I wanted to keep striking him until I was no longer able to move. But it looked like my fighting was done for the night. Paul gave Jack the angriest of glares.

"What's your problem, Hyde?!" "Me?! He attacked me first! If anyone has the issue around here, it's him!" Jack's finger pointed at me accusingly. "Why did you punch Jack, Christian?" I didn't say anything, but I knew Paul would find out soon enough. I simply had to look down… Paul followed my eyes' gaze down to the grass, where he found the bottle. He curiously reached down to pick it up. His expression went from confused, to shocked, to horrified and irate.

"Is this yours?" He asked Jack in a low, dangerous tone. "It's uh… uh… So what if it is?!" Jack stupidly went on the defensive. "What's that?" "Is that blood?" A few players asked, eyeing the vial and gathering around. Jack grinded his teeth together viciously, glaring at Paul and myself. "I asked you a question, Jack. What the hell is this?!" I think Jack could feel the pressure build around him. He tisked, finally yanking his eyes awake. "It's blood, happy?" "Blood? What kind of blood?" Paul just wouldn't let this go, though I understand why; he has herbivore friends too. Jack's eyes met Paul's again- this time with a hint of pride and contempt. "Lamb's blood, if you must know."

Paul's demeanour completely altered, just like mine back in the bathroom. The hand holding the bottle dropped, crushing the container in his palm; the blood dripped out from his fingers onto the ground. He didn't audibly react right away, though his body language said it all. Every muscle, every inch of him stiffened and flexed at the same time; he looked like he doubled in size. His eyes didn't move off Jack- not by a centimetre. And judging by what happened to me when I first saw the blood, I knew what was coming next. Even Jack understood, and for the first time tonight, he looked a little frightened.

No one dared to get in Paul's way when he started to walk steadily towards Jack. His walk became a run halfway through. Jack's foot stepped backwards nervously. Fighting a fellow carnivore- even an apex predator like me- was one thing but fighting a tank like Paul was another. We all knew what was going on once Paul reached him. For the first time in my life, I'd seen an herbivore go in full-on protective mode. "You think we're so weak that you carnivores think can abuse us like that? Let me show you how weak we are!"

I'd heard that getting hit by a rhino- or elephant or hippo for that matter- was akin to being hit by a moving train. I was inclined to believe it too after witnessing the carnage that ensued. The moment Paul's fist collided with Jack's face, the ripple sound effect of his bones breaking echoed through the field. He literally went flying through the air some twenty feet or so. And when he landed, he did not get bad up again.

This set the field and all present- minus the coaches and all other adults- into a frenzy. Teammates began attacking other teammates on both sides. "Damn herbivore!" Some poor fool tried to one up Paul in revenge for Jack; it didn't work. One lion from the Charges even bit Paul on the arm. I tackled him off my friend, but once biting was involved, there was no going back. All the herbivores in the audience made a run for it while some of the observing carnivores joined in. The coaches kept yelling at us to knock it off, but that wasn't happening any time soon. The fighting, particularly between the carnivores and larger herbivores ensued until everyone involved was bloody and battered. The only one ironically not to take part in this massive brawl was Jack, who remained unconscious until the fight was coming to an end. By then I was covered in bite marks and scratches, not that I felt any pain.

No, the thought of her numbed all that.


	16. One Month Later

Christian's P.O.V.-

The consequences for our actions were surprising to say the least. Of course Jack got suspended for bringing contraband items onto school property. But Paul and I shockingly got off with a warning. Principal Grinds, an old tiger, said the horrific sight of real blood made our protective instincts kick in. I don't know if that's true; well, it is for Paul, but I never considered my own protective instincts before. All I knew that I was mad- madder than I'd ever been in my life. And I'm pretty sure I'd deck Jack again the next time I saw him. Twenty punches weren't enough in my opinion.

What was not surprising was that all football games were cancelled for the rest of the semester as punishment for the whole team joining in on the fight. It's probably a good thing, mind you. Lots of us were battered and scraped up. Some even had broken bones. I was covered in scars but aside from that, I was healing quite nicely. All scars had faded after a month or so.

One month…. Has it really been that long? I contemplated that while I sat beside the school's pool, gazing down at my reflection in the water. My fingers flicked it a little. I hadn't realized time was passing so fast. "Heads up!" I peered up to see Jason toss me a bag; he'd gone to get us food from the cafeteria. "Sorry for the wait! There was a line-up," he came over to sit beside me. "No problem. Thanks," I opened the bag to pull out an egg sandwich. I then handed Jason his.

"So, when are you gonna start eating in the cafeteria again, dude? It's been a month; no one cares anymore," Jason took a bite of his sandwich. "Does Paul eat in the cafeteria yet?" I questioned. He swallowed and looked at me with understanding. "Yeah, I get your point. He hasn't gone in either; rumour has it that he eats with a bunch of herbivores in the meadow." "The meadow, huh? Sounds like a nice place to eat," my eyes lowered. Sounds like a bunch of flowers would be there….. Flowers.

"It's so nice not having Jack around anymore. That guy was a douche," Jason chimed. Yeah, mega douche. "Still mad at him?" He gazed at me from the corner of his eye. I kept my eyes down; I really didn't like to think about that night… "I don't know if I'll ever stop being mad…." I uttered honestly. "Yeah, I think the rest of the team is with you on that. But you don't have to worry about it so much anymore. Don't let this ruin your senior year." "It's not… it's just…. I've always tried so, so hard to keep myself in check. I know it's not the norm, but I've never been proud about my strength. What's there to be proud able? I didn't earn it; I was born this way. And on top of that, what's the point of being this strong if I'll never use it? See, that's my problem, but Jack…." My eyes narrowed. "Jack's different than me. He is proud, and he doesn't want to hold himself back. The hard truth of the matter is that carnivores like us are strong for the reason of hunting prey- that's it. That's why I don't want to broadcast my own strength. Jack, on the other hand, seems to not only know this but relish in it. It's pisses me off, the lack of self-awareness he has….. Herbivores aren't dumb, and they can see us…"

A minute of silence passed between us as I had to take a breath. Jason watched me in an awe briefly before glancing downwards along with me. A slow, small grin grew across his pale lips. "You really sympathise with the herbivores, don't you?" "I suppose so…" "Christian, your feelings are your own; you're allowed to feel them. If what Jack did makes you angry, then accept that. But don't be ashamed of who you are. You're a wolf- there's nothing wrong with that either." "I know," I peered up at my best friend with a side grin. Yeah, he's right; I know he is. Still…..

The bell rang and we were on our way back inside to class. Jason strolled along beside me. "To be honest, I thought you've been acting strange lately. And I'm not talking about your issue with Jack." "Oh, really?" My eyebrow raised up. "Yeah; I've been kinda worried." "You were?" This was new to me. "What was the trigger that started this?" "Trigger? Uhhhhhh, I'm… not really sure." "Well, could it be….? Oh, I know! Could it be maybe love?"

This made me foot freeze mid-air. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open a tad. Love? Why would he bring up love? Obviously Jason knew what this meant, gasping in astonishment. "No, seriously?! Bro, you're in love? With who?! She is a wolf? She is pretty? Does she go to our school?" "Shhhhhh, quiet! No, I'm not in love with anybody," even I'll admit I didn't say that with much confidence. "Uh huh, sure," he smirked, and I winced internally. "You've never even looked at a girl your whole life. You've had your awakening, dude!" "Would you shut up? Come on, we've got to get to class," I began walking again, much faster this time. But you know Jason- he just refused to drop it. Ugh, if he wasn't my best friend from childhood, I'd hate him.

"Who is it? Did you imprint on her?" Imprint? I don't…. think I've ever imprinted before. But then, how would I know? "You have to tell me something, man!" "Fifth period is starting." "That's not what I meant; about her! Tell me something, anything about her! Do I know her?" "Shut it! We're gonna be late!" My feet sped up. "Let's see, there are three female wolves on campus. That narrows it down!" "You sure have- good job," my eyes rolled exasperated. "If it's not a wolf, it is a canine? Come on, throw me a bone man!" Oh, hell no.

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"One song, I have but one song…" Paul watched on as I picked flowers and sang softly to myself. The meadow was gorgeous out today; the sun felt so good. It's been weird- I ended up not going to that infamous game against the Chargers, and it's a good thing I didn't. Paul refused to tell me why the fight started in the first place but there were rumours that it had something to do with herbivores, whatever that means. Kate, Jose, and I were horrified when we saw the condition Paul was in after the match; he had to go to the hospital ward to get his arm taped up after getting bitten. Yet despite him being the one to get injured, he's been extremely protective over us, particularly me. He was constantly texting me and checking in; he got really antsy whenever a carnivore came around our friend group. I don't know why he's so on edge and what it has to do with that football game, but I decided to humour him. It wasn't hurting me and if it made him feel better…

I paused to look over at him; my arms were full of blossoms. He smiled at me, which I returned. Yeah, I'm ok with this. If Paul suddenly doesn't trust carnivores like he used to, I'm sure he has his reasons. All I have to do is trust him- trust him as my friend.

My dear, over-protective friend.


	17. Reunion

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

I was staring outside the window along my way home after our club meeting had finished up. Kate and Jose were going to study in the library, and I was off to get something to eat. The sun was setting painting the sky a beautiful shade of orangish red. It was going to be a lovely evening- maybe I should spend it outdoors, somewhere safe of course.

I guess I was too busy contemplating this to see the foot sticking out of the gap in the hall ahead of me. It intentionally tripped me, sending me tumbling straight to the hard floor. "Ow…" With one eye shut, I gazed up to the three familiar face now laughing at me. Clarise and her two goonish friends from before. "Why don't you watch where you're going, klutz?" The lizard, I didn't know her name, jeered. Because you were hiding behind a corner, you moron. I frowned lifting my upper half off the ground. "That dirt look suits you, lambchop," the zebra felt the need to add. "You're so pathetic, Steele. I almost feel sorry for you," Clarise said with an air of superiority. Really? Cause from where I'm standing, you seem jealous as hell of me.

It did hurt however, when that witch came to bend over and pull me up more by my hair. My frikin hair! She's pulling my hair now. And there wasn't much I could do about it just now; she's like ten times stronger than me. "It's been a while, Anastasia. We need to talk," she didn't hold back any venom. I couldn't stop scowling at her; who knew it was possible to hate someone so much? "Did you say something to my boyfriend again?" "Who? You mean Bill?" "You know who, slut! My boyfriend! The guy who's pining after you all month, you loser!" Really? She's calling me a loser when her boyfriend is obviously not into her? Talk about delusional. "I haven't spoken to Bill since he tried to kiss me. I don't want to talk to him; he's all yours, got it?"

Angered, Clarise gave me a little shake using my hair like a bungy cord. "Lair! I know you did something with him! You've hooked up with almost every guy in the school now. Do you have to fuck my boyfriend on top of that, you whore?!" Her voice kept raising its volume. It was around this time that she finally let me go, sending me straight back onto my butt. I groaned, achingly getting up to my feet and flashing them a glare. "It's not my fault he has good tastes in women. But then again, he did date you so…." "W-what did you just say?" She audibly gasped, as did her vapid cronies.

Clarise took a menacing step towards me. "Who do you think you are? As if Bill would ever like someone like you! You weakling! It's a miracle you're still alive, what with that scrawny body of yours." Ooooooh, now we're getting into the "survival of the fittest" debate? I thought we were passed this as a society. "Maybe I'm still alive because not everyone is a psychopath who constantly picks on the weak? Ever think about that? And you're an herbivore too, last I checked," I fired off. Oh boy, the disgusted look she shot me. "I'm nothing like you! You and I are completely different species!" "I know; that's why Bill approached me in the first place," I sighed.

She glared at me for a hot minute. Then, before I had even realized it had happened, she slapped my right cheek- hard. My face went flying off to the side and my cheek suddenly started to sizzle. Horses can hit hard…. My hand rose up to cradle my wounded face while I turned it back to look at her. She smirked in utter victory, like striking a lamb was something to be proud about. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end for a change, slut? Don't ever forget, you're lower than trash. You're worthless; all you do is get in the way of everyone else's romance. We can't experience real relationships with slutty bitches like you around. You ruin everything! So why don't you just get eaten or something already?!"

I frowned. Ok, I'd had enough of this nonsense; this ends now. Her saying that reminded me of that night I was attacked. Get eaten already, she says; would she still say that if she knew that was a real possibility for me? I'm so sick of stronger, female herbivores pushing me around; it's bad enough with guys fawning over my weakness and not me. This is so going to end right now. My hands curled up into fists; my back straightened up.

"It's easy for you, isn't it? Hitting someone like me- a lamb who can't fight back. You're so stupid… You're jealous of me, and you don't even know what you're jealous of. I don't care that your boyfriend likes me; I don't care that you see me as "threatening" to your relationships. I have bigger worries in my life than the likes of what you or Bill think. You lost- you got that? You're so desperate to keep playing a game you've already lost at. And I don't even want to play! Are you so blind? You're blaming me because your relationship failed, but you don't know why it's so broken to begin with. Yeah, you're stronger than me- I get that! I understand that perfectly. So why don't you use some of that strength to try and win at a new game? And leave me out of it this time! You've lost, you idiot! So just woman up and leave me the hell alone!"

I don't think I've yelled at anyone that much in my life before. Clarise and her friends' expressions went from stunned, to incensed, to concerned, to actually afraid- all in the span of my tirade. Even I was surprised when their mouths fell open and they stepped backwards. I was harsh just then, but I wouldn't say I was that scary. I soon figured out why they were reacting that way, however.

Christian's P.O.V.-

I was on my way back to the dorm house with some of my teammates, sans Paul or Rob. We'd usually be going to practice around now, but since there're no games, there's no practice. "You think coach will still make us work at the Spring Festival?" A bald eagle named Aylin asked. We all shrugged nonchalantly. "Knowing him, probably." "Ah, at least it'll give us something to do, what with no games and all." "Man, this sucks! I was getting really good at my toss too. I wanna play again…" A chimpanzee moaned loudly. "We all wanna play again, but we can't. We shouldn't have gotten into that fight," a lion sighed and looked up to the sky. I blinked at him through the corner of my eye. They're still not over it, I see…. One of my other friends, a crocodile named Taylor, spotted my quiet reaction to his comment. He came up from behind me and draped his arm over my shoulder.

"Hey, no one blames you, Christian. All of us wanted to punch Jack anyway; you just beat us to it. By the way, how are your scars healing up?" Taylor tried to sound cheerful. My eyes rolled over to him. "Getting better." "That's good! See? You'll be good as new by next semester. In the meantime, I'm starving." "Me too. Let's go get dinner in the cafeteria," Aylin stated. Everyone nodded and began to head there when….

My feet came to a halt in front of one of the school's main buildings. Pink…. My head instinctively turned to where that glorious scent was emitting from. My lips parted a sliver. Inside….. it's coming from inside. Which means…. She's inside. By now my friends had stopped to glance back at me ponderingly. Before they could say anything however, I gave them a small wave. "I'm sorry. I have something I need to do." "What, now?" "Yes! I'll see you later!" I called back while running up the steps. Follow the scent- gotta follow the scent.

Finding the lamb was rather easy. She was by the windows on the second floor. There were others there too; herbivores like her. I arrived just in time to see what looked like the end of an argument. "And leave me out of it this time! You've lost, you idiot! So just woman up and leave me the hell alone!" My heart skipped a beat; several beats. That's her voice- I can hear her voice again! As I approached her from behind, the other girls began to cower from the sight of me. By the time I was standing right behind the lamb, they stammered and spun around to dash away. The lamb flinched confused by this, scratching the side of her head in a wondering fashion. "I didn't know I could that," she clearly was speaking out loud to herself; I don't think she was aware of my presence yet.

This was confirmed when the horse hollered back: "Go get eaten by yourself!" "Huh? Get eaten? Wha-….?" The puzzled lamb's head checked over her shoulder. I doubt she was expecting to find me there. Her eyes grew wider. "You're….. from before… The wolf from the football team?" Wah! Holy crap, she's talking to me! While I remained completely calm on the outside, my mind was going into panic mode. I… didn't think this through all the way. I just wanted to see her again. And now that I'm here, what do I say? She's right here in front of me….. at last! Should I ask if she's being bullied? Her cheek is red- why is it red?! Did something happen? Are you hurt? Everything I want to ask gets caught in my throat! Dammit! I just beat up a tiger not too long ago- why is this so god damn hard?

"It's been a while. How are you?" Oh, she can talk with ease. How does she make it look so easy?! This past month, I've thought about you countless times. My heartbeat echoed in my ears once more. Always around her or when I'm thinking about her… How can an animal so weak make me feel so…. so….? "I'm sorry I haven't finished that article for coach Lederhosen yet. I hope he hasn't gotten mad about it." She's talking to you, you idiot! Say something; open your stupid mouth and talk to her. Opening my mouth proved a lot harder than anticipated but at least words were able to come out this time. "Are you ok?"

To my surprise, she blinked over to me; first confusion and mildly horrified. "Wait, don't tell me… you heard all that, did you? Uh… well… it's, uh… complicated. But it doesn't hurt! Well, not much; s-she didn't hit me that hard," she blushed. What…..? What? Someone hit her? Someone hit this angel? Was it one of those girls from earlier? Why would they strike this innocent, pure-hearted lamb? And why do I suddenly feel the urge to rip them away from her if I should ever see them together again?

"I should uh… I-I should go…" She wouldn't stop blushing. Wait, what? She's leaving. No! Don't go! Don't let her go! There's still so much I want to say to you, ask you… I didn't intend my hand to slam up against the wall as hard as it did; you could hear the smack from all down the hallway. My arm was now extended, effectively blocking her path. She looked up to me with large, stunned eyes; not saying anything right away. She only gawked at me as I considered what to say to make her stay, to keep her here longer…. with me.

"You are hurt?" "U-uh…?" That's when it hit me like a title wave what I was doing. Idiot! What are you trying to do, Christian? Scare the living daylights out of her? I immediately retracted my arm, stepping away from her in a show of non-aggression. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… Um, sorry!" I can't believe how dumb I sound right now. My voice is naturally masculine and dominant, but whenever I'm around her… everything inside me just shakes and quivers.

She watched me for a moment as if trying to determine what I was thinking, ironic as that might be. Then, to my shock and unspeakable delight, she smiled- she smiled at me. A smile that could stop my heart…. "I-I'm a little hungry. Have you eaten yet?"


	18. Dinner With You

Christian's P.O.V.-

"Hey, look at that." "Did he accidently bring her here thinking she was food?" "The prey is acting a little too relaxed for that." "Was this a dare?" These animals know we can hear them, right?

A drop of sweat rolled down the side of my neck while I sipped water from my cup. This whole experience set in an array of conflicting and competing emotions. On the one hand, I was so happy just to be sitting here in the cafeteria with her… the lamb I couldn't stop thinking about for the past month. But on the other hand, we had been getting weird looks since the moment we arrived. Not only was this my first time eating in here since the fight, but it was my first time eating with an herbivore like her. Of course we were going to draw attention; I'd never seen a pair like us eat together before either. A wolf and a lamb… That just doesn't happen, even as friends. Not that I'd ever ask her to be anything more than just friends! Assuming she didn't want to be…

The lamb, whom I still didn't know the name of, seemed much, much calmer than me. She happily ate her slice of cake and berries, looking and grinning at me in between bites. How can she be so relaxed? I guess I look that way to her too, considering I was very composed on the outside. But on the inside, my mind was going into meltdown mode once more. Not that she knew that, and that's how I wanted it to stay; I wanted her to think I was as mentally calm as she was. Despite that being far from the truth…..

I think she started to catch on that something wasn't right a couple of minutes into our meal, when she paused to glance up at me. It hadn't occurred to me that I hadn't eaten anything in front of her yet- I didn't know how I felt about eating where she could see me….. "Is everything alright?" She asked, making me flinch. "H-huh?" "You're being awfully quiet." "O-oh, I hadn't noticed," I lied through my teeth. Of course I noticed; what was I supposed to say to her? I was already repenting from the bottom of my soul. With everything that has happened, I thought I would at least be able to do this… to finally have a conversation with the angel I've been waiting to see for so long. But… oh god, I was completely wrong. I kept thinking that I might be able to move forward, but I haven't moved at all. Dammit, I got too full of myself. Nothing about me has changed! After all…. I still can't ask her what her name is.

"Mmmmm, this is good!" She beamed. While my face was as calm and stoic as ever, the meltdown continued with a vengeance inside of me. How do you ask a herbivore's name? Why do I even want to ask her name? What reason is there for a wolf to ask a lamb what her name is? What's her name?!

Again, the lamb stopped eating for a moment. She set her fork down and looked at me with sympathetic eyes. A small, sad grin bloomed across her beautiful lips. "Is this about that game? The game against the Chargers?" "Huh?" This definitely caught my undivided attention. That game? Why would she bring that up now? "I heard it might be weird for you to come into the cafeteria again. My friend said he felt the same way. I'm sorry; I couldn't think of anywhere else to eat." What the heck is she talking about? What's happening right now?

"I know what happened at the game." What? What do you mean you know what happened at the game? Who you told that?! It was only Paul, Jack, the faculty, and me who know about the lamb's blood. How'd she find out?! And how is she not freaking out about it right now? "I wasn't at that particular game, but I heard about the fight, and the suspension. Sorry to hear that. What started it anyway, if you know!" Oh… oh, so she doesn't know, then? She only knows that there was a fight; not what caused it. I secretly squirmed in my chair a bit. "U-uh, oh….. n-nothing; it's just one of those things. These kinds of things happen in football games," I couldn't look her in the eye while saying this; I was rubbing the back of my neck so hard. "I guess; fights also happen in hockey, so why not in football?" She stated her flawed logic, but like hell I was going to correct her now. "Yeah….." My eyes gazed down at my lap. Man, talk about awkward. I don't think I'll ever tell her the truth…. Even I can't handle it.

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

The wolf's reaction to this topic made me shudder inside a little. Oh no, perhaps I shouldn't have brought it up. Stupid! It's a sensitive matter with Paul; why would it be any different with him? He's been so quiet, if not a little aloof since we got here. I didn't want to make things more awkward between us. Maybe that's why he hasn't touched his food yet….

I smiled, trying to be as reassuring as possible; I wanted him to like being around me. I… I want to get closer to him. "A-aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten anything yet," wait to cut to the chase there, Anastasia. His eyes shifted around a bit and for the first time since we got here, his expression revealed a hint of apprehension. "I-I'll eat," he picked up his fork and slowly lifted some egg up to his mouth. Oh good, he's eating finally. I grinned for real this time and continued to eat my cake. I also wanted to continue talking to him but didn't really know what to say. He's so much stronger than me, but he seems like a really nice guy. That, and whenever I'm around him, I feel… it's almost impossible to describe. I just get all happy inside for some bizarre reason. I have no clue where all these feelings come from or why they're there. But they are… I gazed back up at him gently. All it takes is one look, and there they are.

It was around this time that I noticed him stop eating again. He watched me, or rather my face, as his fork softly lowered- so did his eyes. Wait, why'd he stop eating? Gasp! Is it because I'm eating too? Does it make him feel weird to see an herbivore chew down in front of him? I am… a lamb, after all. But what does that have to do with anything? We're just having a meal together- that's all. A meal with a guy…. who I can't even ask his name. Ugh, this gets stranger the more I think about it.

I guess he saw that I had also stopped eating, and it's like he forced himself to finish his food. I wanted to return the jester by eating up the rest of my food, which we did in relative silence. But I didn't want to live in this uncomfortable silence for long. All I wanted to do was to talk to him, hear the sound of his dominant voice…. I don't know why I liked hearing it so much, but I did. And it looked like I had to make the first move.

My smile returned to face as I gazed up at him once more. "I-I… I wanted to thank you… er, I mean I'm glad we could talk again." He stared at me with that patient expression, so I saw fit to continue. My cheek rested in my palm. "I know this must be a difficult time for you, what with the football season being suspended and all. But I'm still glad I got to see you again; I was hoping I would…. before the semester is over." "Uh….." Uh? What kind of reaction is that? Well, what did I expect? He is a wolf; this is probably one of the weirdest things to happen to him. I don't even know if he likes me…

Christian's P.O.V.-

Oh, way to go, Christian; why don't you just insult her outright next time? I mean, I know what she's trying to say, but… I don't even know her name, so I feel like this distance keeps growing between us. And I hate it. I feel like I'm drifting away from her….. What should I do? I really want to know her name but I'm afraid she'll get scared if I outright ask it. I'm a wolf, for crying out loud. I have no right to ask anything of her… But…. I don't know her name; I really don't know anything about her aside from she's editor of the journalism club and loves flowers. Maybe I just need to stop overthinking it; she won't get scared if I ask in a nonconfrontation way. Is now the time? Should I finally ask her?

I need to close the distance!

"U-uh…. um….?" "Hmmmm, what is it?" She perked up. Oh, crap; I internally winced. This is harder than fighting that stupid tiger. "A-are you heading home after this?" She nodded. "Yes. How about you?" "I am," I concurred. "Then how about we walk together?" Walk…. together? Walk with her? Alongside her? How'd I win this jackpot all of a sudden?

We scrolled in no particular rush along the path towards her dorm house; mine was further up the way. In truth, I was glad she had someone escort her home. Since that night, and since Jack showed me that vial, I shuttered at the thought of her alone outside after dark. I wasn't the only carnivore on campus… and clearly some were less concerned with controlling their desires.

While it was a quiet walk, it was much more peaceful once we were outside the cafeteria. With just the two of us… everything felt easier somehow. We weren't judged for talking to each other on our own; we weren't judged at all, except for maybe ourselves. Still, I couldn't help feel this sense of joy swell up deep inside me. This only got stronger when she stopped to bend down on one knee. It looked like she was struggling with something on her shoe.

"Wait, hold on a minute," her fingers continued to fumble. I peered over her shoulder to see that she was trying to do up her shoelace; she couldn't see well in the dark like me. Realizing this, I didn't hesitate to come around side her and also get down on one knee. She straightened up as my long fingers reached down towards her foot. "Want me to help?" I asked, though didn't wait for her response. I tied her lace with relative ease, gently pulling my hands back once finished. "There," I grinned, leaning back a little.

That's when her head lifted up and our pupils met for the very first time. We'd seen each other's eyes before but not like this. Her lovely lips parted a sliver; her eyes sharpened. As for mine…. I simply couldn't look away. Her eyes… they're the most beautiful shade of blue I'd ever seen. I didn't know eyes could look like that… so breath-taking. I guess I'd been ogling for a bit too long cause she laughed nervously.

"W-what are you staring at?" Her voice was soft and soulful. I instantly shuffled back a little way from her, still staying at her eyelevel. "Sorry. This is just the first time I've seen your eyes this close…." She blushed; god, she's so stunning when she does that. "Your eyes are nice too; very deep. By the way, my name's Anastasia. What's yours?" Anastasia… what a beautiful name. It suited her perfectly. I think that's the best name I've ever heard for a girl…. My mouth opened as I reminded myself to breathe. "Christian." This made her smile…. dear lord, her smile.

I want to see you smile more; I want to see you do everything. I didn't know it was possible… to want so much at once.


	19. She Also Saw Him

Christian's P.O.V.-

We were watching tv in our dorm house. The news was reporting on another carnivore attack; this time a twenty-five year old cow was murdered outside her apartment in the city centre. Needless to say, the room was pretty tense. This was so soon after Tom's death too….

Sensing the collective mood, only Jason tried to be not cheerful but at least talkative. "Man, it sure is dangerous out there," he awkwardly grinned. All the herbivores in the room looked to us carnivores. "I'll say," one antelope said with a bit of sour tone. "Er, I'm gonna head back to my room," a deer then announced. "Me too," a parrot joined him. Before we knew it, all the herbivores were leaving the common room. Jason frowned sadly and I peered over to him.

"Don't worry about it, man," I sighed, giving his shoulder a little pat. "Ah, this is nothing new," John rolled his eyes as his planted his hands on his hips. He's right- it's not. To be honest, carnivores are used to this kind of treatment. And with some idiots like Jack running around campus, I can kind of understand why. Still…

I thought about this as I made my way down the hall towards third period. Back when Tom died, I told Alice that I was fine with it; I was ok with the bias and mistrusting treatment. I wasn't lying when I said that, only…. _"You know, you shouldn't have to pretend to lose to morons like them. No one will think anything less of you, Christian, if you use your real strength for once."_ It's one other reason, to keep myself under check, with news stories like this going around. It didn't help that the attackers were also canines…

"No! Let go of me!" My foot paused as I gazed up in front of me. These two losers, a panther and an eagle, were tormenting someone on the staircase. I didn't see who yet but by the sound of her voice, I knew it was a girl. "Didn't you hear? Apparently a grey wolf was calling all the shots after all!" "Oh, what a surprise!" A wolf? So they were in charge of the attack last night? Oh boy….

"I-I'm not like them! I would never attack anyone!" Wait, she said she's not like "them". Does that mean she's also a wolf? "That's what they all say!" The panther reached to snatch her arm, giving it a harsh tug. It doesn't look like they're playing around. They could really hurt her if they wanted… Nugh, what should I do now? Should I help her? And if so, how do I help her? How do I approach the situation in a helpful but not threatening way? If this was Anastasia, it would be easy; I'd step in without thinking. But a fellow wolf like myself… Man.

"Are you even listening? You're a wolf too, right? Why don't you show us your true colours, howler?" Well, here's where I intervene. I approached the two carnivores with an air of dominance but non-aggression. I tried to keep my voice as calm and cool as possible, not trying to terrify them out of their minds. "Excuse me, but would you mind letting go of her? You're hurting her," I pointed at the girl now on the steps beside me. That's the first time I got a good look at her; she was indeed a wolf too. "W-what do you want?" The two bullies took a frightened step back. God, even when I'm trying not to be scary….

"Please leave her alone. I think she's been bullied enough," I replied, not moving an inch; I didn't want to step forward in case they saw that as enticing. "Why do you care, wolf boy?" "Yeah? She your sister or something?" Sister? Do they know we look nothing alike? Still, I realized that I'd go nowhere with them fast, so I turned to the girl; she stared at me with large, brown eyes.

"Are you alright?" I asked her gently. She gawked at me stunned for a moment before nodding her head slowly. "I-I'm ok. T-Thank you." The bullies tisked, seeing that their playtime was over now. "Let's go," the panther told the eagle, who fired off a glare before following his friend down the hall. I waited until they were gone before turning my full attention onto her.

"You sure you're alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?" "N-no, you arrived just in time. You really saved me just now. Thank you so much." "It's nothing. I just don't like bullies," I rubbed the back of my neck casually. "D-does this thing happen a lot on campus?" "Sort of; more so since the news of recent attacks. Are you a first year?" I asked her. "Second; I transferred here this semester," she rubbed the corner of her eyes. "Ah, well I wouldn't worry about them again. They just thought you're an easy target because you're a…. a…" "A wolf?" She then peered up at me. I didn't respond right away, instead electing to watch her for a minute.

"Yeah, because you're a wolf."

The female wolf stayed quiet for a minute, as if to let this really resonate with her. Then, she eventually grinned up at me, shifting her feet so to face me directly. "I'm Elena. What's your name?" "Huh? Oh, I'm Christian." "You're a senior, right? On the football team?" How does she know that? As if to be reading my mind, she smiled. "I've seen you play. You're heh, the one who punched Jack Hyde that game last month. Good for you; I've never liked him either. You sure are strong." "Uh, thanks?" And if I didn't know better, I'd say she was blushing a tad. Why'd she be blushing now? What's there to blush about?

"Everyone says what a great football player you are. I think you play even better than Paul. I-I'm…. I'm really looking forward to watching you play again, Christian," she clasped her hands and brought them up in front of her chest…. for some reason. As for me playing better than Paul, well that's just objectively not true- he's the quarterback for a reason. Still, I grinned and tried to be polite; she was new to the school, after all. "That's good. It's nice to hear support from fans," I said because I really couldn't think of anything else to say. I wouldn't say I was feeling awkward, more just meh right now.

She seemed to be really happy at this response; I'm not sure why. "Um… I… I wanted to ask you. Since we're both wolves, would you…. like to keep in touch with me? C-can I give you my number, is what I mean!" Boy, she sounds flustered. What's there to be flustered about? And why does she want my number; we just met? Still, I guess there's no harm in it. "Sure," I shrugged. She excitedly gave me her phone where I put in my number. Then I turned to leave, giving her a wave along the way. "See ya around." "Yes, see you around… Christian," she sighed wistfully. What was that all about? Maybe she just wants some more carnivore friends on campus or something. Who knows.

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"You didn't have to walk me to class, Paul. I can go just fine on my own," my eyes rolled. "Are you kidding? Didn't you hear? There's been another attack; this time in the city centre," Paul walked alongside me down the hall. "That doesn't have anything to do with our school," I let out an exasperated sigh. He's been so protective of me lately… Imagine what he'd say if I told him I had dinner with a wolf the other night. Yeeeeeeeah, I should probably keep that to myself for now.

"Would you just shut up and let me do this? I feel much better…. when I know you're not alone out in public." Oh man, this was getting claustrophobic. I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes again. "Look, Paul; I appreciate your concern- I really do. But this is overkill. Nothing's going to happen to me." "How can you be so sure?" He shot back and I paused. I wanted to retort that I was sure but… deep down I knew that wasn't true. An herbivore already died on school grounds this year and I was attacked that night back a while ago…. My eyes lowered in a thoughtful manner as my head turned forward. "I can't… but I don't think anything will happen again." "Again?!" "I mean to an herbivore like Tom! Not to me personally," both my hands shot up into the air.

Paul huffed and also spun his head straight on. We walked in relative silence for a moment before some girl shoved my shoulder as she passed. Now, I initially thought this was a girl like Clarise or one of her friends but was surprised to see she was a wolf instead; a wolf with brown eyes. "Watch where you're going, lamb chop," her tone was rude and condensing. This caught me off guard; it's one thing for a fellow herbivore to call me a name like "lamb chop", but it was less socially acceptable for a carnivore to. Paul also saw and immediately frowned in disapproval. I'll admit I flinched as his arm unexpected snaked around my shoulder, pulling me in closer to his side.

"U-uh, Paul?" I blinked up at his face, confused at what was happening. "Bitch," he merely responded her way before glancing down at me, still keeping his arm in place. "Don't listen to her, Ana. She's just…." "Oh no, it's ok! She didn't hurt me," I tried to defuse the situation. Paul didn't release his grip, however. Instead he sighed and kept his gaze down at me for a moment. Then he grinned as if he was happy…. for some odd reason. "Come on. Let's get you to class."


	20. Meaning and Purpose

Christian's P.O.V.-

We got an email from coach ordering the team to meet in the boys' changing room. This wasn't going to be a practice so we could wear our uniforms. Confused what this could be about, the whole team headed to the vacant place in the stadium. Lots of team members and the coach were already present when I arrived. To my surprise, I could hear Paul arguing with coach before even entering the room.

"This isn't fair!" "I'm not interested in what you think is fair! There'll be no herbivores on this mission, Clayton!" That's roughly when I opened the door. Some looked at me but not everyone. Also to my horror and instantaneous rage, who happened to be inside but Jack Hyde too. What the hell is he doing here, I froze stiff as a board. I hadn't paid attention to his suspension; I suppose it was over now. Still, being in the same room as this monster again…

"You got a problem there, boy?" It took me a second to notice that coach was now talking to me. My glare returned to Jack, who didn't hold any hatred back in his expression as well. "Don't even think about it. You boys are teammates, so I suggest you get over your PMS and let it go. You hear me?" Ugh, I hate it when coach uses female periods to insult us; it's more insulting to women than anything. "Yes, coach," we all sighed; not just me and Jack.

"That's better. Now as I was saying, the spring festival is right around the corner. Thanks to you dummies who decided to make your last game a battlefield, we won't be playing our usual game them. Instead, we're going to have a fundraiser for the team; you babies need new jerseys anyhow. I need four of you to go find and reserve a booth at Hailey Mill's Park." "Hailey Mill's Park? Isn't that downtown?" Rob asked coach. "No, it's on Mars. Course it's downtown! Which means that I want four carnivores going, understand?"

"Coach, I can go. I'm one of the best players on the team; I've invested more time here than anyone," Paul stood up and I finally understood what they were fighting about before I got here. "That may be true, boy. But with last night's attack, I don't want to take any chances." Paul tisked, clearly unamused by coach's excuse. "Oh, please. That doesn't apply to herbivores like me; I can handle myself out there. I'm stronger than anyone in the room, except for you Geroge," Paul mentioned to our team elephant, who replied with a simple wave of the hand.

Coach was having none of it, however. "You may be strong one-on-one, but it was a group attack last night, and they still haven't caught the bastards. You're not leaving campus, period. Wilkinson, Hyde, Banks, Grey! You four, on the next train to city centre- got that?" Wait….. wait! Me and Jack, going downtown together? I didn't agree to this! And it seems like I'm not the only one who felt this way. Aylin groaned in my place, rolling his eyes agonizingly. "Awe, coach; do I have to go?" "Yeah, I don't want to go either. Why does it have to be us?" a loin named Leo added. "Because you're the strongest carnivores on the team!" Coach retorted a little louder than I think he meant to.

A stunned silence fell over the room. Everyone nervously peaked to one another and Paul looked like he was going to blow a gasket. I can see why; it's true that Paul was stronger than all of us, and yet he couldn't go despite wanting to. Or at least he did before he knew that Jack was also going. He eventually huffed and yanked his head to the side; his arms crossed defiantly. Meanwhile I think coach figured out his error; he backed down a bit and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably for a moment. But of course as usual, the peace couldn't last long.

"Now, I don't want any of you boys taking that seriously. Remember, you're a team and each member of a team is just as valuable as the next. Well, except for the quarterback…. But we're getting off topic! You four are going whether you like it or not. And you'd better be back by curfew," he wagged his finger for emphasis. "Yes, coach," the room echoed in moans a second time. "Good! Report back to me with the booth number tomorrow morning. Dismissed!" That's when Paul stomped out of the room, with me following quick behind. "Paul, wait…." My hand reached out for him. Poor guy, I feel for him.

"Paul!" He went a few more steps before coming to a halt. With his hands still balled into fists, he sucked in a deep breath and sighed heavily. Then he finally looked my way. "I'm fine…" "Paul, I'm sorry. Coach is being unreasonable, as usual…." I rolled my eyes, placing my hand on his shoulder. This made Paul grin at me kindly. He nodded a bit in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. To be honest, I don't really want to go; I just didn't like being denied for something as dumb as that. Seriously….. I can handle myself out in the real world." "I know you can; we all know that. Heh, you're the only one I think Jack is afraid of, after all."

"Speaking of which, sorry that you have to go with him. Now I do wish I could go to support you." "Ah, thanks man, but I'll be ok. So long as Jack doesn't pull an idiotic stunt like that again." "He better not; he'll be expelled next time," Paul noted considerably. "Yeah…" Then Paul placed his hand over mine, giving me a brilliant smile. "Thanks, Christian. You're a good guy." "Anytime. So what are you gonna do while we're gone then?" Our hands let go of each other and we stood there casually; I buried both my hands in my pant's pockets.

"Eh, I don't know…. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Could just take it easy and visit a friend this afternoon," we began walking forward slowly. "Your lady friend?" I asked. Paul had mentioned her a couple of times, though I still didn't know her name; I didn't think it my place to ask. An organic grin painted across his face and his eyes lowered in a soft sorta way. "Yeah; spending time with her sounds a hell of a lot better than going downtown with that bastard." Paul….. "You really like her, don't you?" I perhaps shouldn't have asked him that, but I'll admit, I was a little curious.

"Yeah, I guess….. I guess I do. There's no one else like her, anywhere at all. She's one of a kind, I'll tell ya. She's sweet, and gentle, and interesting….. But more than that, whenever I'm with her, it's like…." His eyes kept lowering as if remembering something pleasant. I remained quiet, letting him finish at his own pace. "I-It's like, I've found a reason for my strength. It's like I'm strong for a purpose; my strength has meaning. She is that meaning…. I look at her, and I know why I'm strong. I was born strong…. for her; for her sake. Heh, I just know…. I don't even have to think about it. You know what I mean?" Paul ended his question by looking directly at me.

I ogled him for a while, deeply contemplating what he'd just said to me. Do I know what he means? Have I ever felt that way before? My heart began to flutter as I brought my hand up to my chest. To know the meaning of one's strength…. I've always regretted how strong I am; I've always thought it wasn't inherently a good thing. But… but what if that's not in fact true? Right then, a pair of ardent blue eyes opened from the dark recesses of my mind…. or maybe my heart. Without my ever noticing it, every fibre of me as been touched. Anastasia's face- her beautiful smiling face- began to materialize inside me. My own gazed lowered adoringly. The way she moves, the sound of her voice…. She's the kind of girl love songs and sonnets are written about. She could give anything meaning or purpose…. even such ugly strength as mine, an apex predator.

Anastasia…..

"Yes," my lips uttered without my realizing…. "Yes, I know what that's like."


	21. The Black Market

[Author's Note: More ChristianxAnastasia coming very soon. Just need to get through this section first (very important to the story). Enjoy!]

Christian's P.O.V.-

Leo, Jack, Aylin, and I arrived at central station around two o'clock. The station was huge; it had a really high glass ceiling with tons of platforms and bridges everywhere. To be honest, since this was most of our first time here, we had nowhere to go next. Aylin pulled out his phone and put the address coach gave us in Maps. The festival grounds were about a thirty-minute walk from the rail station.

"Hey, since we're already out, why don't we get some grub? I'm pretty sick of cafeteria food," Jack suggested. "I'm on board," Leo agreed. They turned to Aylin and me who merely nodded; not so much in agreement but when would we have the chance again. We found a little café along the way which served egg sandwiches; I had tea with mine. Despite being forced to go out in public together, the atmosphere was….. tense, to say the least.

Jack wanted to talk about his sex life- the most uninteresting thing in the world in my opinion. While he was crowing on at our table, I couldn't help but stop a couple a few tables down from us. The female of the pair was a lamb; she was there with a mountain goat. Though she was older than Anastasia, I had to sneak a peek at her. So that's what lambs look like when they grow up into sheep. Beautiful….

"And then she says "you're so self-centred during sex that I just feel empty". Empty, ha! I had no idea what she's going on about; the last thing she is is empty during sex. Know what I mean?" Jack laughed. I guess I'd been distracted too long because that's the last bit I heard of the story. Honestly, it disgusted me, the way he talks about women. If anyone ever said anything about Anastasia like that, I'd rip their tongues out. "Ah, but I don't wanna dump her and her whinny ass. Have you seen her ass? It's so perfect; I can't just leave a booty like that." "Come on, are asses really that important?" Leo's eyebrow went up. "Of course!" Seriously, why are we even having this conversation? It's beyond gross.

I guess they must have noticed my lack of input in their "conversation". Jack sent me the most vicious, passive-aggressive smirk ever. "So, Christian. When are you gonna do something about your virginity?" I crushed my paper teacup in my hand, reacting from shock and instant rage. Instead of retorting anything verbally, I flashed him an insidious glare, which he took as his cue to continue. "Man, you reek of virginity, I gotta say. Pretty uncool for an apex predator like yourself." "Ah, leave him alone. You know wolves only mate for life," Leo waved his hand around in the air. Not helping, my jaw clenched. "Awe, so you'll never have a side piece then?" The bastard just didn't know when to quit.

"What about that second year wolf who joined our school recently? She's cute," Aylin grinned at me as if he was trying to help. "Wolf? Oh, you mean Elena?" "Wow! You already know her name!" "I've only met her once; it was nothing special." "But it could be someday." God, why are they all so interested in my love life? I hadn't even considered love and being in a relationship until…. until…. And my eyes silently referred back to the lamb in the room.

Ok, so to make a long story short, we ultimately found the festival grounds where they were setting up the booths. The staff were initially confused that the football team even needed a booth, but once we explained the situation just as coach told us to, they reserved us a booth. It was near the middle of the place; a good location. By then the sun was starting to set and it was nearly seven o'clock. "Let's head back," Aylin told the rest of us. He's right; curfew is at eight, and coach will skin us alive if we don't make it back in time. We began to walk back, or so we thought.

"Where's the station?" Jack asked no one in particular. We glanced around, pretty sure we knew the way until now. But now… none of us were too sure. "We're lost," Aylin pulled out his phone, which was inconveniently running low on battery; there wasn't enough juice to get us all the way back to the station. "Now what?" Leo asked and I scanned around for any sort of signage or city maps. Nothing. "Well, I'm sure we're pretty close," Jack said with no evidence backing his claim up whatsoever.

It was around this time that we turned onto an unfamiliar road. This one was much darker and narrow than the others, but there was a bright light at the end of it. So light in fact that I was able to spot an elderly man- this guy a goat- sitting curled up into a ball on the street; he was using a wall as something to lean against. The poor man was muttering to himself and trembling; not in an afraid sort of way, more like a crazy sense. He must have noticed me observing him sadly as he beckoned me forward.

"Boy, come here. Come here; I've give you whichever one you like." What's he talking about? My feet didn't move, which meant I failed to follow the others. "Christian?" Leo called as they turned around to see where I'd gone. All of our eyes grew in speechless stun and horror as the old man suddenly lifted up his hands from under his blanket. Some fingers were missing while the remainders had price tags on them. "Pick whichever one you want, wolf."

My feet stumbled back as I now began to tremble myself. I can smell it… The sweat and saliva from other carnivores; their bodily liquids spilling onto this man when they… when they…. I thought I was going to be sick; to vomit all over myself. "They may be old, but they still taste good." No, why is trying to sell us his fingers? A part of his body? This is sick… My mind can't grasp how incredibly sick this is. I began to wheeze, putting my hands on my kneecaps. Nugh, I'm going to throw up.

"Hey, old man! Can we negotiate the price for the middle finger?!" As if I couldn't be disgusted enough, Jack ran up beside me. Unlike me who looked like I'd just been spinning for hours, his face was lit up with lust, hunger, and desire. I'd never seen as a revolting expression on a carnivore before. Before the goat could say anything, a truck moved and we suddenly saw where the light was coming from. Aylin's eyes lit up in understanding. "T-this… this is the black market!"

The black market. I'd heard about this place but always doubted it was real until now. This was an illegal venue where carnivores could buy meat from herbivores. I didn't know where they got the bodies; I didn't want to know. All of these revelations coagulated inside of me, sending all my senses into a panicked frensy. I didn't want to be here; I could have lived perfectly well not knowing this place existed. The smell of blood was overpowering; it smelt… it smelt… Oh, how's the best way to describe it? It smelt like gasoline or something of that sort- not actually like gasoline but the smell was something that smelt alluring, but you know you shouldn't be smelling. It's bad for you.

Of course, the scent of blood was not inherently bad for carnivores. It was natural to be tempted by the smell of fresh, dripping blood. The problem I had was that I fought so hard to keep my beast-mode repressed; I couldn't even control it, it had to be put down. And a place like this…. where consuming meat is not only done but encouraged…. I can't do it! I can't, I won't give in to temptation! Both my hands went up to my head where I feared I'd hear that dreaded, familiar voice again. I won't! I don't eat meat, period! Never! That's when a memory sprang to mind unconsciously. A precious memory to me…

Christian's Memory:

"_Hey, Christian?" "Hmmmmm?" "C-can….. can I ask you something?" You can ask me anything; I'll never not answer you. "Sure." "Er, it's a bit awkward," Anastasia squirmed a bit. _

"Fresh lamb meat! Get your fresh hogget here!"

"_W-what… what do you see me as?" "Huh?" I don't understand; you're Anastasia. How else should I see you? Well, besides the angel you are. "I-I mean, what do I look like to you?" Beautiful, stunning, interesting…. perfect. Not that I can tell her any of those now. "W-what do you mean?" I stopped walking and she followed suit, gazing back at me with those piercing blue eyes of hers. _

"We have all types here! Meat fresh off the bone! This one didn't even finish high school."

"_Uh, I-I'm… I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something stupid!" She made herself tear her eyes away from me. I highly doubt that, I thought as I came up to stand beside her. What should I say to her now? Why would she even ask me that? But before I could get a word out, she smiled up at me again. "I have one last question….." "What is it?" And she blushed, lowering her eyes a bit shyly. _

"Hogget! The most delicious meat in the world! Half-off tonight only!"

"_Do… do you think… we could ever… be friends?"_

I literally screamed, grabbing the sides of my head so hard that I feared I might pull my ears out. "Christian?!" Aylin and Leo ran up over to me. Jack had the audacity to glare in my direction like I was annoying him. "Hey! Would you shut it, Grey?! I'm trying to haggle here!" Haggle… Haggle for what? Haggle for someone else's body part? Sick… I will never get over how sick this is. This time I let my limbs take over as I felt myself march up to Jack; this was a very familiar scene. Without warning, my hand reached high up into the air and I slapped his cheek, very hard. He shrieked a little in pain and flashed me a death glare.

"W-what's your problem, dumbass?! Look around you! This is our one and only chance to taste real meat until we graduate. You think I'm going to give that up for your sentimentalities?! Get over yourself! I'm a carnivore too!" "Give it a rest already! Do you even hear what you're saying?! More than half the school are herbivores! There're herbivores on our own football team, for god's sake! How can you do so heartless?!" Both of our voices were raising, drawing attention from onlookers. "Me, heartless?! Take a look in the mirror, wolf boy! You're trying to deny me something I've always wanted because you "care" about the herbivores. I didn't come all the way here to listen to your self-righteous bullshit!"

My jaw clenched again, and I suddenly felt the urge to slash his throat. It's him….. it's because of carnivores like him that this god-forsaken place exists in the first place. He doesn't care… He doesn't give a damn about any of the suffering or tragedy this hellhole has caused! All because he wants his fix. I think I really would have harmed Jack right then and there if Aylin and Leo hadn't intervened. "Christian!" Aylin got in between us, giving me a desperate stare. "Stop it! Don't go getting into another fight now- not here. This isn't campus; they play by different rules here." "Yeah, you hear that, howler? Different rules which I'm going to enjoy while I can. So back off! This is the real world, so I suggest you grow up and accept it!" Grow up… he wants me to grow up? Growing up means I'll overlook atrocities like this? My hands balled into fists. "To hell with that!" Then I ran into the crowd, ironically straight into the black market. I wasn't thinking clearly; I just wanted to get away from him.

Darting down a street full of all kinds of meat and blood proved to be a bad move. The further in I got, the thicker the air became. I couldn't breathe without sucking in a ton of other scents; all powerful and enticing. It was the scent of lamb meat and blood that made me run faster though. My mouth was hanging open by this point. Gotta keep going; gotta get the hell outta here! This isn't who I am; I'd never willing come to a place like this. I'm not a killer…. I'm not.

As I ran, a soft, gentle voice rang through my entire head once more. I can hear it… _"Hey, Christian?"_ I can hear you…. _"What is it?"_ I can hear you, Anastasia. I can feel you too- I can feel you all around me. _"What do I look like to you?" _I thought that was a strange question at the time. She's here with me; she's always with me, thickening the air I breathe. What do you look like to me? What….? You look like someone I want to stand beside. Someone I want to be there for. Someone I want to protect….

Someone I want to hold the hand of.

My feet didn't have time to stop once the wall at the end of the market appeared. I run straight into it, feeling the bricks shake my bones. The air was cleaner out here, where I felt like I could take a much-needed breath. I couldn't stop gasping, using my hand against the wall to steady myself as I leaned downwards. My mouth was still wide open at this point. All my conscious thoughts centred around her…. her.

I could never say this to your face, Anastasia, but I think you're the most attractive girl I've ever seen. Attractive and the most interesting. I'm always thinking of you; you're always on my mind even when I should be thinking of schoolwork or something else that is important. You're my greatest distraction…. And yet….. so then why….. I suddenly realized that a stream of tears were pouring down both my cheeks, soaking my face. Yet why? Why am I… Why am I drooling so much?!

It's now that I finally collapsed to my knees, letting my hand slide on the wall as I fell. This desire deep, deep within me…. This unsightly craving I have. I can't win against it; try as I might, I still…. My body fell onto my side on the pavement as my vision grew blurry. My conscious was quickly leaving me. I think I wanted to shut myself off, just to get away from this nightmare. I see, no matter what I do in this life….

I will always be a carnivore.


	22. Reality Check

Christian's P.O.V.-

I must have blacked out on the pavement because the next thing I remember, I was waking up. I wasn't outside, however. I don't know where I am. It seemed like a basement, the room was so dark and constructed out of bricks. I wanted to rub my eyes and sit, but that's when I found that my hands were handcuffed behind my back. That's when the panic really set in. I woke up immediately and tried to wiggle out of my bondage. No such luck. The better look I get that the place, the more I grasped… oh, this is a jail cell. A jail cell?! Wait, I'm in jail?!

"You're awake, are you?" My head instantly shot over to this adult panda in a police uniform coming up to me. When I backed up afraid, he paused to lift up his hand. "Calm down, kid. I ain't gonna hurt ya." "W-where…. am I?" But I feared I already knew. "In a holding cell. I've been assigned to your case to see if you're stable enough to release." "R-release?" My voice was shaky as all hell. "A minor in the black market; can't say that's a new one," he took a seat opposite me. "D-did you….. arrest me?" "No. I picked you up before you could be arrested by PDR. I'm an undercover cop assigned with monitoring the black market during peek hours." Should… should he be telling me this? I mean, course I won't tell anyone but how would he know that? As if to be reading my mind, he chuckled lowly. "Don't worry, kid. Everyone around here knows who I am. I have quite a reputation in these parts." Then his face grew serious. "Alright, listen up. I'm going to remove your handcuffs under the condition that you understand that you are not to show me any animosity or bare your fangs at me. Understand?" I nodded without thinking. He believed me as he proceeded to set me free.

After the cuffs were off, he brought me into a much nicer room on the other side of the cell door. This one had flowery wallpaper, calming incenses, and gentle ocean sounds. "Sit," he offered me what was akin to a bean bag cushion. I did as I was told, and he poured me a cup of tea. "Thanks," I grabbed it. "So, you didn't eat an herbivore, then?" "H-how do you….?" "I'm not blind, boy. You think I'd consider setting you free if you had? On top of which, you're a minor. I'm not into destroying kids' futures," he sat down opposite me on the other side of the low coffee table. "Oh…." My eyes lowered, while his sharpened.

"But you have almost ate one before." This made me perk up in alarm, but he kept his stare firm. "Blacking out in the black market- can only mean one thing. The scent of whatever animal you tried to kill set your mind off the deep end. Your guilt was overwhelming, was it not?" Wow, talk about perceptive; and here I thought us wolves were good at that. He chuckled again, leaning back in his seat now. "You're not the first. Carnivores like you put on a mask, trying to hide your true nature not only from the rest of the world but yourself." "I… know I need to tell her one day…." I admitted. His eyebrow lifted at this.

"Her? You mean you're still in contact with the girl you almost ate? What's going through your head when you're interacting with her? You fantasizing about what she tastes like while you talk to her? Or… are you waiting for the perfect time to eat her?" This panda's upsetting me, I had to hold back a growl. "Never. I won't ever attack her again. Not her or anyone." "Oh? You sound so sure but beneath it all, you carnivores are the same." "No, we're not. I'm not like that." "Really? What makes you so different? That's why the black market exists in the first place, boy. But I will tell you that most of the meat there is being sold by hospitals and funeral homes- most. Some just appears but no one asks questions. So, it's not like it's legal but it's better than you carnivores killing someone yourselves."

I watched him for a second, mulling over what he just said. He's framing this practice as a necessary evil- the bastard. Once again, he had the power of mind-reading and sighed. "Look, kid; I'm not saying this to hurt you. I've seen hundreds of carnivores lose their minds over this sort of thing. There are those who can't forget the taste of meat and crave it so badly that they bite off their own arms. They lose all their hair from stress, and some practice self-harm and self-loathing," his eyes then locked onto mine before he continued. "Did you know, that there are even those who have loved an herbivore so much, they ended up eating them?" What? My eyes widened in surprise and distress. They….. ate their loved ones? How is that even possible? I can't even fathom…

"Tell me, wolf. This girl- did you imprint on her?" "I-Imprint? I… I don't know," I gazed down a bit embarrassed for some reason. His stare intensified on me. "You wouldn't; it's a subconscious process. While there's no equivalent for us other animals, you could call it something like unconscious "love at first sight"." Love at first sight? I peered up to him the tiniest bit curious. His arms folded. "Once a wolf imprints on a female, there are no others; wolves mate for life, I'm sure you're aware." "Y-yes, I know that…." He then watched me for a long, long minute, clasping his hands in front of his mouth in a considering fashion.

"I bet you didn't imprint on her. There's only five recorded cases in history where alphas have imprinted on herbivores; it's extraordinarily rare." This caught my whole attention. So… it can happen, then? A carnivore can imprint on an herbivore? Why does this make me suddenly so happy? "Uh, h-how would I know if I imprinted on… er, anyone? Will I ever know?" He didn't answer right away, looking as if he was contemplating what to say next to me. "You won't know for a while, but soon it'll become clear. She'll be the centre of your world, and there'll be nothing you can do about it. But I wouldn't get your hopes up for that herbivore, boy. You wouldn't want to imprint on someone like her anyway." Oh yes; yes, I would.

The panda observed me for a moment longer before nodded to himself. "Alright, I see you're a worthy cause. I'll take you on as my patient and help you through this." My back immediately straightened up. "N-no, thanks. I can deal with this on my own," my hand rose up into the air. "Clearly. You're young and still have a long way to go; you need someone to help you along the way, boy." "I'm not anyone's patient!" "That's what they all say," he calmly retorted. "You….. you're making me sound like a goddamn monster," I felt my anger flare up again. "Aren't you? You almost killed an innocent girl, after all." "Ah, what do you know about me?! I'm slowly but steadily becoming friends with her. That's all I want!" "No, it's not." "Yes, it is! How would you know….?!" "Shut up, you little brat!" The panda abruptly stood up out of his chair. I'll be honest, his size and strength did intimidate me a little, and I bet he knew it.

"Would you give it rest? I'm sure you really do want to get along with her, but that's just your intellect speaking." For some reason, I pictured holding Anastasia in my arms that horrid night right then. "It's your instinct, your desire to devour her alive, camouflaging itself." I remember reaching my hands out to grab her; her soft, soft body… "Listen to me. The romantic feelings you have are just warped hunting instincts. Wolfs mate with other carnivores; that's the law of nature. What's going on with you is the most dangerous kind there is." Her pink, perfect, delicious scent filling my lungs, caressing every part of me…. "Now is the time to give her up. You did not imprint on her, and even if you did, you should love her enough to leave her alone. Stop involving yourself with her while you still can." That sinister voice inside my head telling me to eat her….

Without warning, I stood up and turned towards the door. The panda folded his arms and let out a huff. "I swear, you kids….You've fallen in love with the wrong girl, boy." "I… really don't understand it myself," I freely confessed. "Wolf, I'm telling you…." He started but I cut him off. "Can I go back to school now? I need to find my friends." A pregnant pause in the room. "Fine, but before you go…." I watched as he went over to the dresser to pull something out. Then he brought it over to me. My eyes grew dumbfounded at the sight of a lamb porno magazine being held up in front of me.

"Go on and test yourself." "T-test…?!" Test what?! What am I supposed to do with that?! "Sorry, but I'm serious. Go home and try it out. If this magazine does anything for you, you're just a boy with an odd fetish." Ew….. My eyebrow twitched in revulsion. "It'll be so much better if it is just a fetish." EW! "I don't want that! I don't want to see anyone's body but he-…."

The panda lowered that… that thing, simply staring at me with a concerned expression. "This is bad. You really got it in for her. Ok, boy; you can go now, but take this with you." And throw it in the next trash can I see? Will do! The panda kept a grave look on his face. "If you keep obsessing over that lamb, it won't end pretty." "Thanks for the advice. I'm going now," I angrily snatched the magazine and turned to exit. But before I could, he got one last line in.

"I hope for your sake you did not imprint on her. You'll likely kill yourself, after you're finished eating her."


	23. Paul's Promise

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"After the initial act of imprinting, the male will secrete pheromones designed to attract the imprintee to them. Only the imprintee will be able to subconsciously detect these pheromones which are tailored to her specific senses….." "Whatcha reading, Ana?" Paul hollered over to me. "Nothing!" I called back, quickly shutting off my phone. Of course it wasn't "nothing"; ever since Christian and I officially became friends, I'd been so curious about wolves and their instincts. So different than us sheep….. I found it fascinating. I found him fascinating….

"Ana, did you hear me?" "Huh?" My shoulders perked up as Paul leaned over to me; we were sitting at a joint desk in the library. I was supposed to be working on that article for coach Lederhosen, but…. I took the opportunity to sneak in some online research on wolves. To be honest, I didn't know anything about wolves; I'd never heard of imprinting before. Well, I knew that alphas were a thing, but that's not exclusive to wolves. I looked to Paul and blinked, breaking my train of thought.

"S-sorry, what was that?" My voice was more than a little startled. He watched me for a moment before continuing. "I just said it's Environmental Day and we should head to our habitats soon." "Oh… oh, right! Yes, sorry; I forgot!" Paul chuckled at this and shut his textbook. I followed suit and he helped me put my backpack on. We went to the Unity Centre together, where we parted ways in the herbivore lobby. Paul had to go to the savanna plains while I went to the green meadow. "I'll walk you to the clubroom after we're done here," he told me before he left. I don't care how boring it is to write; I had to get coach Lederhosen's article done today before we started getting ready for the spring festival. The last thing I ever wanted was Christian to get yelled at on my account.

Christian…. I couldn't stop thinking about him while I laid there on that itchy, fake grass. My arms were spread out at my sides with my hair all around me behind. These were some of my favourite hours of any week. It was so peaceful laying under the bright- albeit false- light blue sky. There was minor chatter among some of the other lambs- like all two of us- but I liked to simply lay back and relax. Ample time for thinking too, which I enjoyed. All thoughts kept reverting back to Christian. I tried to imagine what kind of animal he was like; what he did for fun, aside from football; what it was like being an alpha male; and so on. The atmosphere was so calm and peaceful that I could just relish all these ideas and questions without shame. There was no shame in it- not in here, where I could be alone with my thoughts. In here, I could think about him all I want without having to worry….

But of course, the good times couldn't last forever and what felt like much too soon, the two hours were already over. I groaned as I sat up; nugh, time to get back to reality, I guess. Boo! Still, it wasn't too bad, I suppose. Paul was leaning up against the wall outside with his arms folded when I came out; he was waiting for me. We grinned at each other. "Ready?" "Ready," I nodded, and we were off.

We didn't really talk about much the whole way to the clubroom; needless to say, my mind was on other things. But Paul didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he didn't show it. He escorted me all the way to the clubroom with a fairly cheerful manner. Once there, I invited him inside for a cup of tea; anything to stall writing that dull piece. He happily accepted and shut the door behind us.

The tv- our room was one of the only rooms to have a tv in it- was left on by another journalism club member; I'm guessing Jose. It was on the local news station, with a report discussing something which sounded serious. Paul watched with a mild interest while I got the kettle ready at the side of the room. Both our ears perked up however, when the reporter announced that there was another attack downtown this morning. This one was a duck near central station; they're guessing it was the same group of carnivores that attacked that other guy earlier this week.

"Police are still on the lookout for any suspects in the area. So far, no one has been identified but they have reason to believe that the leader of this carnivore gang is a male grey wolf…" Wolf? My finger twitched on the kettle, my lips flattened into a solid line. I remember…. that night I was attacked, I can't be positive but I think it was a canine, and definitely a male… the same man who killed Tom. So I was right- he wasn't a student here, which means…. whoever's behind these attacks has trespassed onto school property twice, at least. He's killed one student already, and almost killed me… Should I tell someone about this? But then, what would I tell them? I didn't see who my attacker was; there's zero detail I could give the police about him. What could I say that the cops don't already know, aside from the fact that he tried to kill another student here on campus?

"Ana? Ana." The sound of Paul made me flinch again. "H-huh?!" That's when I noticed that I'd over-filled the teapot with water. I immediately shuffled to clean up the access water. Paul observed this with concern. "S-sorry! I-I guess I wasn't paying attention!" My hands kept scrambling. After a tense minute of this, Paul shut off the tv; I think he believed the news is what made me nervous. I guess it was, in a sense… Just to know that he's still out there, and he's not the only one… and he knew where I went to school. I should remind you that the mind does strange things when it's scared, so you'll have to forgive my flawed logic.

"Are you ok, Ana?" Paul got up, still facing me. I, however, was facing the blank wall in front of me. My hands trembled a bit. "Uh, y-yeah; I-I'm fine." Yeah right, like he's going to believe that. "Ana?" I didn't respond this time, too lost in my own thoughts again. I didn't know what to do… I didn't know…. Paul must have sensed something was still wrong, otherwise he probably wouldn't have done what he did next.

I heard him step towards me and I suddenly found myself being wrapped in two big, strong arms from behind. This made me come to a complete halt as I gradually grasped that I was being hugged; embraced by Paul. Paul…. He's…. he's hugging me. My eyes began to widen in surprise and bewilderment. This was so weird; I mean, we've hugged before obviously, but this… something about this felt different- new. I felt his breath on the back of my neck while his arms pressed me into his front. Man, sometimes I forget how strong he actually is…

"Don't worry, Ana." "Huh?" "Don't worry; I will protect you. I won't let anything happen to you; no one's gonna touch you, not while I'm around." "P-Paul!" I gasped. He's always been protective- over-protective recently- of me, but he's never outright said anything like this to me before. I felt his grip on me tighten. "Don't let what you hear on the news worry you. You'll never be a victim of a carnivore attack like that. I'll protect you with everything I've got, Anastasia." Paul….

I had to gasp again; he was embracing me so tight, almost like he was afraid to let me go. He just said I'll never have to worry about a carnivore attack, but the great irony is…. And more than that. "W-why are you doing this…. for me, Paul?" I finally managed to spit out. "Why?" He repeated, clinging to me tighter- if that were possible. A moment of silence fell over us and I felt Paul's forehead rest on the back of my head. He was breathing heavily now… "Why? Because I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you. It's easier to protect you, than live with the alternative." "Paul….." My eyes lowered. Yeah, I think Kate might be right; Paul might have a thing for me. It's too bad I…. Well I…. I…..

"You don't have to do that, Paul. I will alright," my body ultimately surrendered and leaned willing into him. It's then that he gently pulled back, still not removing his arms from around my waist. I spun around so to face him, and we stared at one another for a second. Then, I made myself grin up at him. "You put yourself in harm's way… for my sake, please. I don't want anything to happen to you either, Paul. You are a dear friend to me."

Paul merely watched me for a moment longer before me in for another deep hug again; this time my head rested on his shoulder. "I've said it once and I'll say it again: just shut up and let me do this. Let me protect you; don't try and hold me back for my sake. And in return, I will make you happy, I promise."


	24. Confliction

Christian's P.O.V.-

To my total surprise, Paul opened the door of the journalism club before I had the chance to knock. I'd just finished up with my environmental hours and was on my way to see Anastasia. I had to see her again; as soon as possible. Ever since that night with the black market and my conversation with the panda…. I just had to see her; I needed to hear the sound of her voice. It'd calm me down, I knew it would. But I was shocked to find Paul in Anastasia's clubroom, and what's more, he looked equally as stunned to see me there.

"Christian?" Paul blinked, stepping out and shutting the door behind him. "Paul? What are you….?" "Oh! Wait a minute- did you come to check on how the article's doing?" "No! Er, yes… uh…." Is that why he's here? I almost forgot about that article for coach…. "Ah, don't worry, bro. She's working on it; it'll be done for next week's paper," Paul sighed reassuring. "She?" My heart skipped a beat. "The editor. She's writing it." "Oh, that's good…. Erm, is she…. inside?" I squirmed while asking this. Paul's face lit up in slight confusion.

"Who? Ana?" Ana? "Um, yeah; Anastasia. She's the editor here, right?" That's when Paul's grin began to fade. "What do you want with Ana? Do you… know her?" "Yes, well… kind of. We've spoken a couple of times," I felt my nerves heighten. To my surprise a second time, Paul actually placed his hand firmly on the wall beside him, effectively blocking my access to the door and inside.

"Ana's busy right now; you shouldn't disturb her." So, she is inside? My eyes widened puzzled. Why would he block the door like that then? He's in a pretty dominant stance right now. "I understand. I just… wanna talk to her." "About what?" Why should he care? And why is he acting defensive all of a sudden? "Nothing really. I just…." My eyes glanced away as I rubbed the back of my neck in an awkward fashion.

Paul eyed me, then let out a small sigh. "Listen, Christian. I like you; you're a good friend. But Ana isn't like me; she's not used to talking to larger carnivores. I'm afraid it might scare her if you try and approach her all of a sudden. She is a lamb, after all," he shrugged. Paul… "I don't know about that," I retorted calmly, trying to sound as passive as I could. "She's just a little on edge right now. We just heard about another attack downtown." "Really?!" My voice cracked. "Yeah," Paul sighed once more, lowering his eyes sadly. I sensed he wanted to say more so I waited for him to continue, which he did seconds later. "It shook Ana up a bit. It's not like she's scared, and I know you'd never do anything to her, obviously. It's just… I don't want her to get surprised or scared, you get me?" "Y-yeah, I get ya…." I said more for Paul's sake than mine. Still, all urges inside me screamed at me to go in and see her, check on her…. Anastasia, I peered at the shut door again.

Seemingly satisfied with this, Paul nodded affirmingly. Then he patted my shoulder and started to lead me away from the clubroom. "Come on, let's go tell coach the good news about the article." "Uh, yeah, sure…." Seeing no way to change his mind right away, I followed suit. Though I really wanted to run to her, maybe even comfort her if she needed. Huh, that's weird; the more I think about her, the more….. I think about her, if that makes any sense. It's like a never-ending cycle; never-ending because I never stopped thinking about her….

"So…." "So?" "Just out of curiosity, how'd you meet Ana? Share any classes?" Paul asked me as we wandered through the halls towards coach's office. I didn't answer immediately, allowing myself some time to construct an appropriate response. What should I tell him? Should I be honest? Well, technically the first time I spoke to her was that day when we went to the journalism club. "Erm, coach told me and John to go to tell her about the article. That's how I met her." "Oh yeah! That was like a while ago. I was wondering who told her to do that, on coach's behalf course! No one's blaming you or John; hell, even Ana doesn't. All on coach," he sounded happy, like this explanation pleased him… for some reason.

"And what about you?" "Huh?" "How'd you meet Anastasia?" "Oh, we're old friends; we've known each other since the first year of high school. Met her through a mutual acquaintance named Jose." Jose? I think I remember him. So they've all been friends for a long time then? Huh, friends…. "Are you…. friends with Anastasia?" "What do you mean?" "I mean are you "friends"?" My eyes met Paul's. He watched me, remaining quiet for a minute. Now it looked like his turn to formulate an answer to give me.

"Er, it's…. complicated. Let's just say that we are friends…. for now." For now? What does he mean by "for now"? That's when it finally hit me: the scent of Anastasia all over Paul's skin and clothes. The pink smell of hair, her sweat, her gentleness….. Why is Paul covered in it?! They didn't have sex; I can tell that much. But there was something here; he had touched her in some way, shape, or form. In that moment, it felt like my heart was being coiled agonizingly by a steel bar.

I had to kick my quickly raging brain. Wait, why am I getting all worked up? They're simply friends, and friends can hug each other. Well, I didn't hug Jason or Paul often, but girls might be different. It's not like he likes her or anything. Paul doesn't like Anastasia, does he? No…. he would tell me, wouldn't he? But then again, he did say "for now". Ugh, I'm probably overthinking this; Paul has a girl that he likes- he told me himself. I doubt Paul and mystery girl are "just friends". No, there's to worry about….. But my nose kept creeping over to his pink-scented clothing. Right?

"What about you? I heard about that Elena chick from Aylin. Sounds like she likes you, dude," Paul patted my back casually. "Elena? Oh, her. Yeah, she's alright, I guess….." "You guess? Bro, there's a really hot wolf on campus and you think she's just "alright"? Granted, I haven't seen her in person, but Aylin has assured me she's gorgeous. At least give her a shot, man," more pats. "Eh, I don't know…." "What's there to know? Just ask her out! The worst that can happen is she'll say no."

I shrugged, not really sure what else to say. I can understand where he's coming from. Elena's a wolf and it's socially acceptable, even encouraged for us to get together. But…. I gazed forward, lost in thought about the whole situation. Paul's got a point; I am a meat-eater and ever since the black market, I've been afraid to look at myself in the mirror. Yet despite all that, more importantly…. much more importantly, I'm afraid that I'm drifting away from Anastasia.


	25. How Thick Can You Get?

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

I immediately waved when I spotted Christian on the other side of the cafeteria. Usually Kate, Jose, Paul, and I ate in the meadow for lunch, but since the latest attack downtown, security and rules had tightened around campus. We weren't supposed to eat outside the cafeteria anyway; we were just following the original rules now. Looks like Christian was doing the same along with the rest of the football team.

We saw each other even from across the entire room. An instant smile bloomed across both our faces and I waved happily. He shyly waved back, looking as reserved and stoic as ever. I wanted to go over and talk to him, to see how he's been doing; but unfortunately, reality had other plans for us. Before I could take my first step…..

"Anny!" Ugh, I inwardly winced as I glanced over my shoulder to see Kate looking at me. She was beckoning me to come join her in line. "Hurry up! I wanna get that table under the oak tree," she proceeded to point at the gigantic oak in the middle of the room. I peered at it and sighed. If only I'd come here alone. Christian noticed my private dismay and seemed as if he wanted to come to me as well, but one of his friends stopped him too. I didn't hear what the pair said; the place was too noisy.

We gave one another one last smile before going to join our friends at our opposite sides of the room. Kate raised her eyebrow at my arrival to her side. "Who're waving at?" "Hmmmmm? Oh…. just a friend," I kept my eyes low, which was good because I blushed a tad when Kate looked over. "Who?" "Erm…. someone on the football team." "Who do you on the football team besides Paul? Is it the elephant?" "It's no one you know. N-never mind, just forget it." And thankfully, thaaaaaaaankfully, she did. I peered back through the corner of my eye, and that was the last time I saw him before at the spring festival grounds later that day.

Christian's P.O.V.-

I should have gone up and talked to her back in the cafeteria. I don't know when I'll get a chance to see her again. But Jason and Aylin began speaking to me and I couldn't just excuse myself, despite how much I might have wanted to…. Ah, Anastasia; what can do just to get a moment alone with you? But…. My eyes narrowed softly as I stared out into space. Should I even do that? Should I want to be alone with her in the first place? I get all excited and happy whenever I think about it, but…. _"Listen to me. The romantic feelings you have are just warped hunting instincts. Wolfs mate with other carnivores; that's the law of nature. What's going on with you is the most dangerous kind there is."_ But…..

"Christian!" A female voice made me turn around to see Elena running towards me. I hadn't wanted to turn my attention away from Anastasia, but she had already left by this point. So I spun my feet to face Elena. "Hi, Elena." "Just finishing up lunch?" "Yeah. How about you?" "Yes. I ate up in the balcony. I…. I was looking for you," she started to blush… for some reason. Why'd she look for me? Did she want to ask me something? Elena fidgeted a little, shyly clasping her hands in front of her. "N-now that I've found you, do you… do you want to walk to class together?" "Oh, uh sure," I shrugged nonchalantly. Why not? Not like I had anything else to do between here and history class.

"How are you liking school so far?" I asked along the way, not really sure what else to talk about. "Hmmmmm, everyone's a bit standoffish, what with me being a wolf and all. But I've met some really nice people….. real nice." "That's nice," I'll admit I said kind of absentmindly. I guess I was thinking about something else… or someone. "A-are you going to the spring festival?" "Yeah; the football team is running a booth to raise money for new jerseys." "Oh, really? That's great! I'll be sure to stop by." "Sure," any support was good support, right? "I'm so excited! Are…. are you going with anyone?" "Anyone?" What does she mean? Course I'll be there with the rest of the team; I won't be manning the booth all by myself. But she blushed again and glanced downwards.

"I-I mean…. are you taking anyone with you… to the festival?" "Not that I'm aware of. I think my shift is with Rob at the booth in the afternoon. I'll go downtown with him, I guess." A moment of silence followed this, though it wasn't particularly awkward for me. I hadn't thought much about the festival until now. Coach was on my case that I go and help set up the booth; that's what I'd be doing after school this afternoon. That's when I noticed that Elena appeared deflated, again for some unknown reason. "Are you going with anyone?" I tried to pick the small talk back up, not sure why she's so quiet all of a sudden. "Not yet…" Her eyes drifted back up to me as she said this. Well, at least she's talking again.

"Ah, don't worry. You won't be there alone; there'll be lots of people going," I don't think that's what she wanted me to say but I'm not really sure what she wanted me to say. Ah well. "I suppose you're right….. You'll be there." "Uh huh." "And you're not going with anyone….." "I don't think so." "Then…." "Then?" I blinked at her, not quite sure where she's going with this. "W-well, since we'll both be there….. and we're not going with anyone, do you think…. can we go together?" "What?" Go together? But we're already both gonna be at the festival. "Like "together" together, Christian." "Oh, we don't have to do that. We'll see each other there, I'm sure. Besides, I think you'd be bored, watching me setup for the booth."

Another quiet followed this statement of mine. Eventually Elena sighed. "Dense." "Huh?" What was that? "N-nothing. So… we'll see each other there then, for sure?" "I don't see why we wouldn't," my shoulders shrugged casually again. "Ok! We'll meet at the festival, then!" Well, she cheered right the hell up. What was all that about? Is she nervous about going downtown or something like that? She doesn't have to be; she is a wolf, after all.

I walked Elena to her classroom before heading off to mine. At least there'll be people I know at the festival too. And if I'm lucky, she'll be there…. deep, deep down, I'm praying she'll be there, despite knowing it might be wrong.


	26. Bitter Sweet

Christian's P.O.V.-

I came home to the dorm house to a flustered Jason, although I didn't realize it right away. "Hey, man," I kicked off my shoes and set down my backpack. He spun right around to me; if I didn't know any better, I'd swear he was blushing. Hmmmmm, now that I'm looking at him, he does seem a bit red. "You have a fever, dude?" I straightened up while asking him. He flinched and immediately shook his head. "N-No! I'm fine…." "Ok then," I went to put the kettle on for some tea. Jason ogled me the entire way, taking his time to speak again.

"Erm, C-Christian?" "Hmmmm?" "W-we've…. we've known each other since we were kids; it's been a long time, hasn't it?" "Yeah?" I naïvely responded with inappropriate casualness; you'll see why it was inappropriate in a second. A very intense- intense for Jason- pause fell between us. He took a step closer towards me. "W-well, it's just… You know I'd never doubt you or judge you about anything, right?" "I know that. What's up with you, bro? You're acting all weird," I pulled out the tea box. I wanted to make some tea for my journey downtown this afternoon. "A-and you know I'd never want you to feel bad. Nobody can help who they love; even alphas like you. You can't decide whether it's a wolf or…. a lamb…"

The tea bag instantly slipped from my fingers as I stared off into space blankly. What… what did he just say? I guess the look I then gave him was so terrifying that he backed up with his hands out in front of him. His expression went from uncomfortable to frightened in a matter of seconds. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! That's the opposite of what I wanted to do! I just couldn't help seeing it! I promise I won't say anything! I'm so, so sorry, man!"

Ok, explanation time. I won't bore you with the nitty, gritty, and very awkward conversation that followed. Somehow, Jason had found that insidious porno magazine that damn panda gave me; I knew I should have tossed it! But I didn't, and here I was- caught red-handed. Stupid thing; I've never even looked at it once! And now I'm being harassed over having something I haven't even indulged in; this is like getting caught with weed when you've never smoked it before. Regardless, Jason did discover it and I had to come clean- at least about why I would have that trash in the first place. Not so much on me attacking Anastasia that first night.

"S-sorry, Christian. I was just going to get the math textbook I lent you. Your door was unlocked and…" I huffed, gazing downward. Fuck this; I never asked for any of this. But Jason was my friend and his intentions were innocent enough- I can't get mad at him, much. "I won't tell anyone, I promise….. But, you know…." His head lowered a bit and I already knew what he was going to say next. I sighed, not willing to let him get a word in anymore.

"The truth is…. ever since I've met this lamb, I've felt weird. I've been confused… I can't think of anyone else but her, and I can't figure out why. As a wolf, I know how I'm supposed to feel about a lamb like her, but… but I simply don't. I've thought about it from every angle; hell, we've only really had one conversation before. I shouldn't feel like this….. But one look at her and it all comes rushing back."

Jason considered this for a moment. "Do you think it's possible you've imprinted on her?" "I have no clue. Imprinting is a subconscious process; I wouldn't know even if it did happen." "But… do you like her then? This lamb girl?" My eyes lowered softly; my lips parted a sliver. "She takes my breath away, and drives me crazy, and I feel nothing but pain…." The image of my hand reaching for Anastasia slipped unconsciously into my mind. "Christian…." "I don't…. I don't know if that's love or something else, but the fact that I don't know…. if this is love, then why does it hurt so fucking much?" Another brief moment of silence.

"Maybe because being away from her is physically painful for you? I think I've heard something like that about imprinting before." "It doesn't make any sense though; why would I imprint on a lamb of all animals? A lamb I barely know?" "Dude, you don't have a choice on who you imprint on- you know that," Jason sighed. "But what if I didn't imprint on her? What if this is something else entirely?" Something sinister…..

Jason watched me through the corner of his eye for a while, and then let out another long sigh. "I wish I could help you out with this one, man. But if it's as painful as you say, I'd end it with her." I blinked to him like he just told me to do the impossible, but his face remained adamant. "Dude, what's the point in hurting yourself if you even imprint on her? Don't forever, she is a lamb and you're an apex predator. It's unheard of- a lamb and a wolf. If this whole thing is only causing you pain and confusion, why continue it? Why not just let her go and forget about it? The sooner, the better, if you ask me." Forget? Forget about Anastasia? That's like asking someone to forget their experience in heaven. And despite that brief time we had together at dinner, I still remember every moment. Every gesture of her small hands, every flick of her brown hair, even every flash of her throat as she breathed. How could I possibly forget any of that?

Still…. I hadn't considered it until now but perhaps Jason has a point. I got angry when the panda told me to leave Anastasia alone, but Jason knows me; he's like a brother to me. He'd never encourage me to do anything harmful to myself- the exact opposite, in fact. Anastasia's face reappeared once more in my head…. Her beautiful, smiling face. I'm used to keeping my feelings bottled up inside; this isn't new to me. Maybe they're right and it is best to let her go- leave her to go live a normal life with other herbivores. And as for me…. Well, she made me smile for real, right from the bottom of my heart once. More than once actually.

What else can I ask of her than that?

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"Man, this movie is so frustrating. Why don't they just kiss already?" I peeked up from my history textbook to see Kate scowling at the television. We had gone to the common room on our floor after class. I had to go to the festival grounds downtown soon and wanted to get some last-minute homework in. But Kate thought it best that we watch a cheesy rom-com instead; I don't know why she liked these movies when they annoyed her so much. Oh well.

"Theirs is a love that goes beyond kissing and all that physical stuff," I remarked in a detached sort of way. "Yeah, right; that's just dumb, virgin stuff. Kiss him already damn it!" Kate shouted at the screen like she was irritated it hadn't obeyed her already. My eyes merely rolled. "This movie would be a million times better if they banged, or at least made out once or twice. It's like they're allergic of each other's skins," her arms threw up into the air. "Why did you want to watch 'Suddenly Wealthy with a Husband to Boot' if you don't like it?" I asked, growing tired of her complaining. "Duh, cause it's a great love story," she contradicted herself, and I had to hide a grin since I'm pretty sure she's unaware of this contradiction.

I then set down my book to watch the screen along with Kate. It was the scene where the two leads were making sandcastles on the beach. A gentle smile rang across my lips. "Do you like him?" "Who? That guy? He's alright. She's who annoys me." I laughed. "Oh? Then what is your kind of guy, then? Which guy do you like in this?" "Isn't it obvious? Mr. Bodyguard is where it's at. A bodyguard who also happens to look like Adonis…. She's an idiot for not just eloping with him; that's what I'd do if I were her." And my head shook returning back to my reading. Kate eyed me curiously for a minute.

"And you?" "Me?" "What about you? What kind of guy do you like, Anny?" "Haven't we had this conversation before?" I sighed tiredly. "Are you telling me you've never liked anyone before? Never?" This made me pause as my eyes drifted off into nowhere thoughtfully. Of course, Kate knew exactly what this meant.

"For real?! You like someone?!" "What?! No, I didn't say that." "You didn't have to; your face says it all. Sooooooo, who's the lucky guy? Do I know him?! Is it that guy from the football team you were waving at earlier?" "It's…. no one," I should have uttered with more conviction; of course Kate wasn't convinced. "Come on, Anny. I know you better than anyone; you've never had a crush on any guy before. This is a big deal- huge." "No, it's not." "Yes, it is. Tell me all about it. Who is he? How'd you meet him?" "Well…" I couldn't help but gaze down bashfully.

"I met him when he came to ask about the football article I just finished up. It's the strangest thing… I never saw myself with anyone, especially a boy like him. I'm a little frightened of him, to be honest….. I'm a little frightened of him, and yet…" All words paused in my throat. Wearing the widest smile, Kate leaned in closer urging me to go on. I had to continue, for both our sakes; this was my first time talking about it with anyone, after all….

"It's so weird. Whenever I see him, all I want to do is go up to him, go talk to him. I don't… I don't think I'm afraid of him per se; more so these odd feelings I have when I look at him…." "What kind of feelings, Anny?" Kate pressed. "I don't know how to explain it. He's so hard to read, and he almost never smiles. But like today for instance… I turned around suddenly and caught him looking at me, and he was smiling then. And I felt… it's almost impossible to describe. I felt as if he gave me the most enormous, beautiful present."

Kate sighed wistfully and rested her cheek in the palm of her hand. "He sounds wonderful." "He is; he really is," I agreed without hesitation. "So, who is he? You have to tell me!" "Er, uh… well… you wouldn't know him. He's not in any of our classes." "Is it the elephant?" "It's not the elephant- stop that!" "Ok, ok. But what are you gonna do now?" "What do you mean?" I asked her puzzled. "How are you gonna get mystery man to fall in love with you?" "I would never, Kate! I respect his feelings for me, whatever they are; I would never make anyone fall in love with me. Really!" "I mean how are you gonna deal with all these "confusing" feelings of yours? Just gonna pine from a distance forever?" "Hmmmmm, I don't know; it's… a complicated situation. It's not like I can just waltz up and talk to him." "Why not?" "Because…. because…." Because he's a wolf and I'm a lamb. Plus, I don't know how Christian feels…. He might not even like me, for all I know.

"I think you should just go for it." "Huh?" I turned my head back to Kate. She flashed me a brilliant grin. "Just go up and talk to him. What's the harm in that?" "I…. I don't know." "I know for you. You like him, don't you? You want to talk to him- just go up and talk. What's the worst that can happen?" Me? Just go up and speak with Christian? It's just so crazy that it just might work… "I guess I could…." My thumb ponderingly ran over the bottom of my chin. "Who knows? He might like you too- you never know." "I don't know if he will…. but honestly, more than anything…..

I just want to get close to him."


	27. Jealousy

Christian's P.O.V.-

I'd been sort of numb since my conversation with Jason. To forget Anastasia…. It felt so wrong that it almost tangibly pained me. But that just emphases how bat-shit crazy all this is. I barely know the girl, for god's sake! Why is it then, that the harder I try not to think about her, the more she subconsciously appears? Subconscious…. _"How would I know if I imprinted on… er, anyone? Will I ever know?" "You won't know for a while, but soon it'll become clear. She'll be the centre of your world, and there'll be nothing you can do about it."_ Nugh! This is so confusing! Sometimes being a wolf really sucks. It should come with a warning label and a manual.

Rob, Leo, Paul, and I went to the spring festival grounds late in the afternoon after class was over. Coach was hounding us to get the booth built and finished; he'd been anxious to yell at someone since he wasn't hollering at us on the field or in the locker room anymore. We had to paint it today; coach picked out the colours to match our team colours. Not my first choice but whatever. Made our booth stand out- I'll give it that.

"We need more clean water," Rob announced to the rest of us who were busy painting away. "I'll go," I offered, setting down my brush and grabbing the bucket; Leo filled it up last time. While I was filling it up at the park tap, that familiar, glorious scent of pinkness found its way to my nose. This wonderful, wonderful scent…. That's why it's bizarre that I was surprised when someone suddenly tapped on my shoulder from behind. I instinctively glanced over to see her…. her. The only angel I've ever seen here on earth.

"Hi, Christian!" She sounds happy…. oh god, how lovely her voice sounds when she's happy. Now don't panic, I had to remind myself quickly. She's just a friend- that's it. "I didn't know you'd be here today. I'm glad!" She's also glad…. Damn, this is bloody hard. I set down the bucket so I could turn all my attention onto her; maybe not my brightest move but it's what I wanted to do just then.

"Oh… I see. The journalism club is hosting a booth here too, huh?" My voice was calm but still a tiny bit shaky. I had to stifle a smile as I spoke to her, which was particularly difficult since she was smiling at me. "Sort of. We're going to set up a collage highlighting this year's events; it's not to raise money or anything. But we will be selling papers at the festival." "That's a good idea," I really didn't know what else to say. I wanted to ask her more about this collage they're setting up, but…. But…

"Hey, I was wondering….. Since I'm the only club member here right now, would you…. if it's alright with you, Christian, would you mind helping me? It's a lot of work for one animal." No! No, no, no, no. Don't ask me that; don't ask me to spend time with you. This is already hard enough… I don't think we should be alone together until I've worked out all these complicated feelings, regardless of how much I want to…. I don't want anything to happen to you, Anastasia; I never want to hurt you. I have to be sure that whatever is going on with me will never negatively affect you. I couldn't live with myself, should ever….

"Ah… I-I… I don't know about that," and the sudden look of disappointment in her eyes made me continue. "C-coach is really on our tails to get the booth all done; we're all pretty busy. It's just… I might not have the time…." Anastasia watched me for a half a second, like she was digesting what I'd just said. Then she grinned up at me once more; this time peppered with an obvious hint of sadness. "That makes sense. Don't worry about it; I wouldn't want you to get in trouble on my account. I'll see you around the festival grounds…. Good luck! Have fun," she waved as she started to walk away from me. "Yeah…." I watched her go, feeling this intense sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach. It's like someone just punched me hard in my gut. This is how it should be, isn't it? All I'm doing is maintaining the natural distance that herbivores and carnivores should have. I'm doing this for her, right…..?

Leo sighed as we reached the last part of the booth to paint- the front. Paul and Rob had gone off to take a break, leaving Rob and I to get started. I picked up some tubes of paint and began to unscrew one of the lids. Rob, meanwhile…. "How's that fair that they get a break? Seriously, Paul thinks that just cause he's the quarterback, he can do whatever he wants," my teammate complained. "He's been here longer than the rest of us. I think he's earned a break," I countered softly, trying not to sound the least bit intimidating. Though I was now a bit curious to see what he'd gotten up to; he's been gone for five minutes now. I paused to look over the festival grounds, only stopping when I finally spotted him. He was walking towards another booth…. A booth with a recognizable smell emanating from it.

Wait…. My heart froze once I noticed her inside. Anastasia…. Paul is going to talk to Anastasia. I don't know why that made my blood pressure spike up like it did. I did feel every inch of me tense up when, after a moment, his hand reached up to brush some hair behind her ear; he proceeded to caress Anastasia's cheek. My pounding heartbeat could suddenly be heard in my ears again. Paul, you… _"There's no one else like her, anywhere at all. She's one of a kind, I'll tell ya. She's sweet, and gentle, and interesting….. But more than that, whenever I'm with her, it's like… I-It's like, I've found a reason for my strength. It's like I'm strong for a purpose; my strength has meaning. She is that meaning…. I look at her, and I know why I'm strong. I was born strong…. for her; for her sake. Heh, I just know…. I don't even have to think about it. You know what I mean?"_

I hadn't realized how hard I was squeezing the tubes of paint in my hands. How could I have been so blind? I get it now, I understand…. My eyes sharpened on the pair, and I felt like I wanted to tear Paul away from her when he had the audacity to hug her… embrace that one angel on earth. How dare he? How dare he touch her? I knew I smelt it before on him, her pink essence, but to see it in person…. I'd never felt anything like this before- this was also a new experience for me. Friends or not, Paul had no right…

My hand clenched a little too hard, and soon different coloured paint went flying everywhere. That's when reality hit me again; I raised up my multi-coloured hand to gaze at it. She takes my breath away, and drives me crazy, and I feel nothing but pain. Anastasia! Her smiling face zoomed through my mind. Anastasia….. _"Do… do you think… we could ever… be friends?"_

To hell with all this- to hell with everything! I don't give a damn anymore about all that "carnivore" and "herbivore" crap. I'm a wolf: a male, alpha, grey wolf. And wolves imprint on their mates…. I've been denying my true nature ever since I can remember. I've supressed my beast-mode so far down inside me, but there's another aspect of being a wolf I've unintentionally neglected as well. I can't fight this part of me; I can't help that I've…. I've…

I am a wolf, god dammit! Being a wolf doesn't just mean being a mindless killer- no, it's so much more than that. Whether I like it or not, I was bound to imprint on a female eventually; it's not like I have a choice in the matter. And why not? Who cares if we barely know each other? This is natural for me; this is part of my biology. I'm a wolf, after all; I have to stop expecting myself to be something else. I can't keep pretending I'm something I'm not. After all, I understand it perfectly now…. Looks like the panda was right and I would know soon enough.

It looks like it's you, Anastasia- it's been you all along.


	28. Holding Springtime in Your Hand

Christian's P.O.V.-

Now that I was sure, I couldn't look away. Without my ever trying, my eyes always drifted back to her. Anastasia…. Now what? Where I do go from here? What should I do? I'm gonna have to tell her eventually, but… will she understand? Only wolves can imprint on their mates; herbivores, on the other hand…. Would she even understand what's going on with me? And more importantly, would it freak her out? That's the last thing I want to do…. Ugh! This is horrible. Ok! I've got to tell her sooner or later, but I should get closer to her organically before then. Let her get used to me; let her get used to being around an apex predator.

"There! All done!" Leo proclaimed, relieved to be finally finished. All of us stood in front of the booth to admire our handy work. Paul sighed with his hands on his hips and Rob nodded his head. "Not bad; not bad if I do say so myself." "Alright, good work men! Let's head back," Paul instructed us. "Huh?! But it's only six!" Rob whined. "Coach only sighed our permission slips to be out until seven. You think he'd let us go to the festival if we broke curfew?" "Yeah, you're right," Rob's eyes rolled downward disappointed. "Coming, Christian?" I flinched when Paul grinned at me. Paul….

I didn't know how to feel about him these past couple of hours. On the one hand, he hasn't actually done anything wrong. He's been friends with Anastasia for a long time, and it's no surprise that he likes her now. As far as he knows, there's no problem with that. But on the other hand, it'll never happen between them so why let him get more attached? I can't tell him that obviously though. He's still my friend, after all…. I guess I'll have to be cordial and forgive me for a crime he didn't know he was committing. Paul would never intentionally hurt me either…

I smiled back at him and shook my head. "I'll head back soon. You guys go on without me." His eyebrow rose but he still nodded. "Alright, man. See you back on campus. Come on, guys; we need to go tell coach the booth is done." And I watched as the three of them left, waiting until they were gone before making my move.

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

I was busy gluing newspaper articles and photos on cardboard when a well-known voice caught my attention. I glanced over my shoulder behind me to see Paul standing at my booth; he flashed me a lovely smile. "Ready to go?" "Oh! No, I'm not done here yet; I told Jose I would finish up before I left."

His grin immediately began to fade. "Ana, you shouldn't be here after dark alone. I have to go back to campus to see coach soon, so I can't stay longer. Can't you do this at home?" "I'll be fine, Paul; really. It'd be too much of a hassle to pack everything up and bring it back tomorrow. Look, I'll go with the rest of the crowd; I won't go home alone, I promise." He hesitated. "Ana….." "Just go, Paul; I'll be alright. I'll text you when I'm home, ok?" "Well…. ok. But make sure you don't go back by yourself, you got that?" "I won't," I nodded confirmedly. Satisfied with that, Paul left while waving at me; I waved until he was out of sight. Then I turned back to my work for another half an hour. Honestly, I thought it would take longer but didn't.

Once everything was done, I set the collage away and stretched my arms out. A shadow overcame me by then and I looked up to see Christian there. Christian! My heart leapt up into my throat as I stood up out of my fold-up chair. "Anastasia." "Christian! Hi, it's nice to see you!" I think I said that a little too eagerly. He did give me the cold shoulder earlier. Hey, that's right- he did. So why is he here now? Not that I'm upset or anything! More so confused…

Christian's back arched, like he just remembered something or was caught off guard, but then his eyes quickly met mine. "Ah, um…. How are you?" "Oh, I'm good- just finished up here. Wait, you haven't left yet?" I thought he would have left with Paul and the other football players. "No…" His stare moved down; funny, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was being a bit shy around me. A wolf, shy around a lamb? Isn't it supposed to be the reverse? Then again, I wouldn't say I'm bashful around Christian- mostly. I just want to talk to him some more…

"Anastasia?" "Huh?" The world's fastest pause. "Let's head back together." Us… head back together? Am I dreaming or something? How are things going so well all of a sudden? I don't understand… "Sure but… why all of a sudden?" I heard myself ask out loud. No! Dumb brain. Do you want this or not? Why question a good thing?

Christian seemed to mull this over for a minute, keeping his eyes downward. He only glanced up once he had a response in mind. "B-because….. because it's uh… it's dangerous outside!" I uh… I don't think he said that like he wanted it to sound. Still, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and grinned after a moment. "Uh, sure. We can go back together." Cue waiting to the train station in silence for the next five minutes.

It wasn't an awkward quiet, mind you; more like we're both thinking about stuff. Christian walked beside me with his hands buried in his pant pockets. There were a ton of times I wanted to say or ask him something but refrained. What could he be thinking? Is he worried what it'll look like being out in public with a lamb? Is he regretting his decision to ask to go back with me? Ugh, why is it so hard just to open my mouth and talk to him?! He makes me feel so… so… No boy has ever made me feel this way before. And I wind up looking like a complete idiot who can't speak. Man!

By the time we reached the interior of the train station, the train was already there, and the doors were closing. I ran towards it, hoping to catch it before it took off. No such luck. Christian had joined my side by the time it began to speed away. "Sorry," he told me like this was somehow his fault. I grinned up at him kindly. "No worries! We'll grab the next one," I wanted to sound as positive as possible. We went up to the plastic, dark blue seats where we sat next to each other. Ok! I told myself while sitting beside him. You want to talk to him- here's your chance. Just say something; anything!

"Erm, you know, Christian…. on the day we met…. I had no idea what you were thinking." What?! What the hell am I saying?! You have the perfect chance to speak to him and you say that? What is wrong with me?! God, no wonder I've never had a boyfriend before. "Oh really?" He didn't sound surprised. Stupid; stupid! Fix this, Anastasia! My mouth opened again before I gave myself any time to formulate what I would say next, but to my surprise, it was Christian who broke the silence this time.

"It… sure was hot out today," his hands ran over the top of his pants. Huh? He's talking about the weather? Gasp! Maybe what I just said made him uncomfortable. Of course it made him uncomfortable! He already knows I'm not a mind-reader; course I'm not going to know what he's thinking. Great start to our second ever conversation. The more I thought about it, the more nervous I became.

"Tomorrow's supposed to be cooler, so it shou-…" Christian cut himself off all of a sudden. This made me blink up to him. I found him staring off into space, his jaw hanging open a bit. "The day we met….." He uttered this but I don't think he was speaking to me anymore. My back straightened up a little as his eyes shifted to stare into mine again. "You… really don't remember that day, do you?" "R-remember what day?" My hand rose up to my pounding chest. What is he talking about? Of course I remember that day; how could I forget it? That's the day I discovered…. that I could find wolves supremely attractive.

"Anastasia…." Oh, I get it! A wolf suddenly showing up to meet a lamb, and it happened so soon after Tom's death…. and literally the day after my attack, but he obviously wouldn't know about that. I grinned over at him, suddenly understanding where he's coming from. Poor guy…. he must feel a bit bad for just appearing without warning like that. But it's not his fault he's a wolf and coach picked him to come tell me about the article; I don't blame him for that at all.

"It's ok, Christian. I do remember that day, and… and to be honest, I was a little frightened when you unexpectedly showed up in the garden. But that has nothing to do with you! I… I don't have the best track record with larger carnivores," I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly as I said this. Gotta keep going, gotta keep going…. Don't give him the wrong idea now! "B-but I'm alright now! I know you'd never hurt me, so I'm ok. There's nothing to worry about."

I'll admit, my spirits did damper a little when he didn't automatically reply. Instead, he merely watched me with a forlorn expression for a moment, then glancing down to his broad hands. I noticed his eyes lower a bit. "I would…. never hurt you; you're right. I want you to feel safe and comfortable around me…." Christian… "I do!" I leaned in forward. Words cannot describe how happy I was to hear him say this. So he does care for me at least a little, after all…

"Heh, it's actually sorta funny. A lamb, friends with a wolf? I never thought in a million years… but I'm so happy we are. Now we can just look back and laugh at that first day," I smiled. Christian did not; it's as if what I said made him frown, for some odd reason. Wasn't he glad to hear this? Why does he look so…..? He sucked in a deep, deep breath.

"Meeting you, Anastasia, is something I cannot treat lightly. To me, it was a really big deal. So… I can't do anything but keep it inside of me, and I don't want to change that." My heart started to flutter as his head slowly spun towards me, with his eyes so tender and low. My hand literally rose up to my chest, which was pounding like crazy. I was afraid he might be able to hear it. "That's how much I want to keep those memories of you and me safe." "C-Christian?" Dear god, what is happening right now? Why would he tell me that? And why… why am I so immeasurably happy that he has?

While we were staring at one another, the next train came rushing into the underground station. Both of us wordlessly stood up and walked out onto the platform. For a wolf to tell a lamb such a thing…. it seems so unnatural. And it seems even more unnatural that I should want to hear it. A wolf and a lamb…. Can such a thing even be possible? I mean, we're from different worlds. The memory of that night I was almost killed appeared to me. The reality is that I might very well get eaten one day. This is a worry he'll never experience, and what's more… He's the type of predator I should be worried about. But I wasn't lying when I said I know Christian would never hurt me. He's not like that guy from that horrible night; the one who scratched my arm. Not all carnivores are like that monster…..

"Christian, the truth is…. I… I haven't told anyone yet, but I've been…." "Anastasia, wait. Before you say anything, there's something I've got to tell you." The train doors open before he could get more in. "You said you know I'd never hurt you," he finally continued as scores of people exited onto the platform, cautious to avoid bumping into us. I couldn't take my eyes off him. What is he trying to say? Is he going to confirm what I already know? I should just tell him about that night; it'll prove the contrast between him and a real killer. Maybe that will help set him at ease. But before that, I'll let him continue speaking to me.

"I-I've got to tell you something…. but promise me you won't run away." "W-wha-? W-why would I run from you?" My eyebrow raised up suspiciously. That's just silly; I want to get closer to you, not further away. But for some bizarre reason, Christian didn't look convinced. To my surprise- and shocking delight- he reached over to take hold of my hand. This was the first time… we've ever touched each other's hands before. The deep blush in my cheeks was inevitable. "C-Christian." "Anastasia, that day we met… I'm sorry if I scared, but I know why you were scared. You see, I….."

"Hey! What you do think you're doing?! Let her go!" We both immediately perked up and blinked to see a polar bear yelling at us. This unsurprisingly grabbed everyone's attention, with all eyes suddenly being on us. What was maybe more surprising was that Christian didn't let go of my hand, and I didn't pull mine away. Quite the opposite; we held onto each other's tighter. "Are you trying to abduct this lamb, wolf?!" The polar bear, who was also the security guard, stomped angrily over to his. He went from shooting Christian vicious glares to comforting faces directed at me. "Don't worry, dear. He won't take you anywhere," he sounded much nicer talking to me.

Oh god… oh god! It hit me like a building-full of bricks. We're holding hands in public… They think Christian is trying to kidnap me! "No! No, no; it's fine! It's ok, we're friends! We go to the same school!" Without thinking, I jumped in between them, desperate to protect Christian from any wrath he may face. "How dare you? She's an innocent lamb, and a minor! You're both minors!" Clearly, the polar bear wasn't listening to me. The bystanders were beginning to talk now too. "Oh my god, is he attacking her?!" "I think he's trying to drag her onto the train." "Someone, stop him!"

Oh, hell no. To hell with this. Christian glanced around totally terrified out of his mind, but I kept my head. I grabbed his shirt with my free hand, still refusing to let him go. "Run!" I commanded. It took him a second to glance down to me. By then I was pulling him frantically by the shirt, trying to get him to start moving. "Run! Let's get outta here!" I kept crying. "Hey! Stop right there!" The polar bear chased after us. Christian watched me in a panic as we kept racing forward. "Why are we running?! We're just making things worse!" "I'm not about to stand by and watch you get arrested! Keep going!" "Stop!" Thankfully, the polar bear's voice echoed from further in the distance.

"C-careful! I might kick you!" Christian was still panicking, however. "I don't care about that! I care about you!" My eyes winced shut; I think this is the most assertive I've ever been in my life. But nothing was going to happen to Christian- not on my account. Hey! I think my protective instinct just kicked in. After seventeen years…. Well, at least I know I have it now. "Just keep running! Hurry, or we'll get caught!" I ordered as loudly as I could. Christian didn't say anything for a moment, though I felt his hand grip mine harder. "Anastasia…"

Christian's eyes rapidly sharpened. He went from looking at me to watching forward where we were going. I suddenly felt my arm shift from behind to in front of me. While still holding my hand, Christian darted in front of me, effectively increasing our speed by double; he's so much stronger than me. And he glanced back to check on me…. Check on me, and smile.

Christian's P.O.V.-

I've never had anyone's protective instincts come out because of me, in order to protect me….. I know that's what happened to Anastasia because I could detect it in her smell. Her scent was still pink but a fiery pink now- like a neon, glowing pink. She was anxious in those few precious moments to save me… She wanted to shield me from all harm that might befall me. And being a lamb, her response to danger is flight; not fight. So she made me run away with her, as fast as we could. Flight is never my initial reaction to danger, but it is hers. My eyes intensified as I looked to the platform ahead of us. Fine- I have no problem with that. Let's do it her way.

Anastasia blinked as I proceeded to run out in front of her, utterly refusing to release her hand. Holding onto her hand, even at a time like this…. It's an indescribable experience. Like holding springtime; like holding a long-stemmed rose, or a diamond…. Look at her now, this protective yet weak creature. I want her to see a real wolf, an alpha wolf she can be proud of.

Ironically, while desiring that, I also felt proud to be a wolf for the first time in my life too. Right in front of the girl I've imprinted on… my one and only mate, I felt so proud. Proud and thankful. I don't know where we're going, but wherever it is, she'll be with me. Wolves mate for life. Who cares how others will see us? I'm not looking at them; I'm looking at her. And I will find a path for us. Still running, I glanced over my shoulder to check on her, to see if she was doing alright…. and smiled.

If she looks back at me and smiles on the next turn, she'll be my wife.


	29. A Familiar, Sinister Voice

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

We were trying to pant as quietly as possible during those first few terrifying minutes. Realizing we ran into a dead end- literally- we hid in the closest place we could find: a bathroom. "Damn, where'd they go….?" My eyes winced shut at the sound of the security guard's footsteps echoing through the room. We hid in a stall where I leaned up against Christian; he kept both his hands on the stall's walls. Even now, I took the opportunity to peer at him from the corner of my eyes. He's not taking the advantage of the situation and touching me. He's trying not to touch me, without my consent….

We both sighed in relief when he finally, finally left. My hand rose up to my chest. "D-do…. do you think it's safe to leave now?" I asked Christian. He responded by shutting his eyes and turning his head down softly. "Anastasia…. I'm so sorry." "W-what… what are you sorry about? You didn't do anything wrong. They were just being speciest; don't worry about what they think," heck, I only worried on account of what they may do to him. I could care less about those jerks….

When the polar bear didn't return after a few minutes, we thought it safe to get the hell outta there. We walked all the way to another train station, where we grabbed the train home. We… didn't hold hands this time. But I'll admit…. holding Christian's hand isn't something I'd mind doing again. It was the strangest thing, but his hand felt so natural in mine- like they were moulded for each other.

Christian's P.O.V.-

The scene at the train station was a real wakeup call. I can't let myself forget, even though I've imprinted on Anastasia and she's my mate, we're still two different species. And while I'll do everything in my power to clear a path for us going forward…. My eyes lowered a tad. It won't be easy….

"I hate the way they treat carnivores like you. You'd never hurt a fly- you don't deserve any of that," she announced with such assuredness. I felt my heart starting to sink as my chest contrasted. I hate it when she says that…. It's true, I never will hurt her again, but she just trusts me so much. She has real faith in me- my mate believes in me. And yet… My eyes rolled over to her from their corners.

No…. Hiding it from her any longer would be wrong. I want this relationship to be built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect- not lies and secrets. Anastasia trusts me; I owe it to her to be honest. I wanted to tell her back in the first train station, but we got interrupted before I could say anything. Now…. now is the perfect chance. I have to tell her about that night. I have to tell her…. it was me. Now is the time, I repeated told myself. Now is the time for me to…

Without my brain's go-ahead my lips parted. "Actually….." But before I could continue, she broke off my sentence. "Erm, you know… to be honest, I haven't… uh, there's something I have to tell you, Christian. I wasn't going to tell anyone until after I graduated, but…. I trust you. You see, I know… what it's like to be afraid…. of carnivores." My stomach immediately rushed up into the back of my throat; I couldn't react but stare at her with the largest of eyes. W-what…. what is happening? What is she saying? I don't…. No, this wasn't the plan! Cut her off! Don't let her finish; you need to be truthful about this! Stop, please!

"That night, before you and I met, I was… attacked by a carnivore." Dear god. "It was dark out, so I couldn't see who it was. But… i-it happened at school. I think it may have been the same guy that killed Tom, but I can't prove it." Dear god, why is this happening? My inner demonic voice started to rise up from the deep recesses of my soul again. _Why do you still deny who you really are? You are a wolf, and wolves hunt lambs. _No! This isn't happening! She's my mate! I can't ever lay a finger on her again! Never again! My hands began to quiver as she raised up her arm.

"I…. I'm sorry, Christian; I lied to you. I didn't fall and hurt my arm; he… scratched it. But he didn't bite me! I was fine, I swear! It was just my arm….." Her arm; her soft, tender arm. _Doesn't that frustrate you? Aren't you sad, never being truly satisfied?_ Stop it! I'm not you! I'll never be you! You're a monster, and I'll never let you touch my mate! My hands unconsciously balled up into painfully tight fists; I could feel my claws digging into my skin. The warm sensation of blood on my hands soon followed. Don't touch her… Don't touch her! I can't… I can't even look at her! _Look at yourself; try as you might, you cannot escape who you are. You can't run away from yourself. This side of you will grow hungrier and hungrier. _Stop! Just stop it!

Every fibre of me winced at the feeling of Anastasia's soft hand now resting up against my arm. S-she's… touching me! This angel is caressing me! "Christian? Oh no! Don't worry! I'm alright; don't let what I've said bother you. If it makes you feel any better, I haven't seen him since then. I bet he's not on campus anymore. And no, I'm not afraid of you." No…. no…. Her smile deepened as her thumb lightly ran over my skin. "Quite the opposite. I feel safe whenever you're nearby." Anastasia…. Anastasia! I have to stop this demon inside of me! I have to push him down as far and deep as I can. I won't let him have her! I could hear sinister chuckling inside me. The sound of my beast-mode… _You are overjoyed from the bottom of your heart, to finally have the perfect prey here in your arms._

"Shut up!"

I had shouted from the top of my lungs, a hundred and ten percent done with his nonsense. But when I blinked, finally regaining complete control of my mind, I gazed over to see a stunned and mildly horrified Anastasia. Her hand was entirely retracted away from me now. She blinked a few times dumbfounded. "C-Christian?" Oh sweet lord, what have I done?

"N-No, Anastasia! I wasn't talking to you!" My hands raced up to flash in front of me. Bad move. Her eyes grew gigantic at the sight of my bloody palms. "Christian, you're bleeding!" She gasped. "U-uh, no! It's fine; don't worry about that!" And behind my back they went. Anastasia watched me for a moment like she was unsure what was going on; I could see the wheels turning in her mind as she ogled me.

"Are you alright, Christian? Gasp! Oh! Did what I say upset you?! And right after you were accused of trying to abduct me…. I'm sorry, my timing was so bad." "No! No, no; you didn't do anything wrong, I swear it! It's just…. ah…." Damn, what do I tell her now? How do we go forward from here? I obviously can't tell her it was me now. If I did…. I'm not sure how she'd react. I got to do everything I can to keep her happy, safe, and close. Until that time when I can tell her, I'll have to be careful.

I practically had to force myself to look calmer on the outside; the inside was going to be a mess for a while. She perked up when my eyes softened onto hers. "I'm sorry, Anastasia. I really… wasn't talking to you just now. I was…. thinking; I guess I was telling my mind to "shut up"." "Hmmmmmm, I know that must have been hard for you to hear. Does this have something to do with Tom?" Tom? "Uh, I guess you could say that." Her smile reappeared as she stepped closer to me; her body language was all relaxed and content again.

"I'm sorry, Christian. Two herbivore attacks on campus; that can't be easy to hear, even for an apex predator. It was ill-timed on my part; I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you…. to let you know why I acted afraid that first day we met, at least at the beginning. It wasn't you- it was never you. Please, just know that I trust you. I…. I don't mind holding your hand," she uttered while blushing. All I could do was stare at the masterpiece in front of me. She is a masterpiece, from the top of her head all the way down to her feet. And I can still see her halo….

"Anastasia." "Yes, Christian?" She perked up a bit happily. I took in a deep, stilling breath. "I wanted to say…. thanks for today." "Oh! You don't have to thank me, Christian! If anything, I should be thanking you. Thank you for escorting me home; I get a little nervous traveling alone after dark." I'll bet. Still…. I didn't want to leave her side just yet; not just yet. I can't believe I've finally found my mate… and it's turned out to be the most complicated situation in the world. But one look at her and it all comes rushing back to me. Anastasia, please…. You don't know it's me, but when you do, promise me you won't run away. Promise that you'll never run from me. I'll be content with that, if you promise. But until then…

Can I walk in the sun with you, for just a bit longer?


	30. Lack of Communication

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"Idiot; idiot. I can't believe what an idiot I am." "Ok, I'll bite. Why are you an idiot, Anny?" Kate, Jose, and I were hanging out in the journalism clubroom. It was almost time for us to head down to the spring festival grounds to make some last-minute touches to our booth. I glanced over to Kate, who was sitting beside me with her laptop out in front of her.

"You remember I told you about you-know-who?" "That guy you like? Yeah, I remember." "Guy?! What guy? I thought you were dating Paul," Jose perked up at Kate's unfortunate remark. "Paul and I are friends; that's it! And there's no guy! Well… I don't know if there is." "Do you know if he likes you yet?" Kate went on to ask, like it was the most ok thing in the world. It wasn't! "I… I don't know how he feels about me. I think he likes me, but I don't know if it's how I like Paul or…. him." "Hmmmmm, so what you're saying is you don't know if you've been friend-zoned or not?" Kate hummed to herself, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand. "If you want to put it like that, yes."

"Wait, I'm confused. What happened to you and Paul? I thought you two were definitely going to be a thing by the end of this year," Jose scratched his cheek ponderingly. "I never said I liked Paul, Jose. I do like him! But as a friend- he's one of my best friends. I don't want to lose the great friendship we have." "Ok; so just marry him and then you'll have a husband and best friend. Problem solved," his hand threw casually up into the air. "No, it's not. Look, why are we even talking about this?" "Because you kept calling yourself an idiot a minute ago?" Kate replied in a matter-o-factly tone. Ugh, I hate that tone.

I let a long, looooooong sigh. "It's nothing; I just feel like a total moron. I told him something last night that I maybe shouldn't have." "Oh? What'd you say? Gasp! Did you confess?!" Kate suddenly looked all starry-eyed. "No! I just…. I think what I said brought up a painful memory for him. Tom… was on the football team as well," my eyes scrolled downward. "Tom? What did you say about Tom? Girl, did you even know Tom?" "Look, just drop it, ok? I should have waited to tell him what I did, but like an idiot, I didn't. And I made him feel all awkward. It's my fault….." "Sooooooo, let me see if I got this straight? You were honest with this guy, and he got mad at you for being honest? Wow, sounds like a real keeper," Kate groaned. "It's not like that! He's….. sensitive." "Sensitive, or controlling?" "Would you stop it?! He would never do anything to hurt me!" I was starting to raise my voice. "Yeah, except get mad at you when you open up to him." "He didn't!"

Neither of us notice Jose sigh and stand up out of his seat. "I hate to break up your little argument but we gotta head down to the festival now." "Oooooooh, will mystery man be there? The football team has a booth this time!" Kate latched onto my arm. So much for being unimpressed by him, I rolled my eyes. "Let's just forget about it. I don't want to bother him." "Awe, who'd think you're a bother?" "Look, I really like this guy. He's sweet, and strong, and charming… I just… don't want to do anything else to make him upset. I think it's best if I keep my distance for a while; let him come to me when he's ready." "If he's ever ready." "Shut up, Jose!" Kate yelled back at him.


	31. Protective Instinct

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"Anny? Anny. Hey, earth to Anny. Anyone home in there?" Huh? Oh, I guess I'd been staring up at the sky for too long. The sun was setting quickly; it would be dark soon. We had just gotten everything put away and were getting ready to head to the train. I spun my feet a bit so to face an irritated Kate. Her hands were on her hips and she was tapping her foot. "Didn't you hear me, girl? I said someone needs to bring this sheet over to Principal Grinds. He's on the other side of the park," her hand waved a sheet of paper around in the air. A sheet? Oh yeah, with our schedule and planning for our booth this Friday. My eyes lowered as I came over to grab it. "I'll go." "Ok but be sure to come straight back. We need to leave before it gets too dark out." I nodded and was on my way.

The spring festival…. I haven't spent much time thinking about the actual festival; I'll be manning our booth selling the school paper, so I won't be able to do much. Still…. it's the big event of the year- one where couples usually go. My lips parted a tiny sliver. So many guys have asked me to the festival with them in prior years; I've always politely turned them down. Now it looks like I'll definitely be going alone this year- my last year of the festival. That's ok though, my hands rolled into balls. There's only really one guy I want to go with anyway, and I doubt he'll ask me. I shouldn't have told Christian about that night… I accidently pushed him away without a shove. And yet…. despite everything, I was still so happy yesterday. Spending time with him is the easiest and hardest thing to do at the same time. But I want more… I want to see him more, hear the sound of his voice again. When he grabbed my hand, I was so elated, I thought my heart might burst. And it might be selfish, but I want to hold his hand again… it makes me so indescribably ecstatic.

I want to be the only hand he ever needs to hold.

"Wow, I can't believe how incredibly selfish I am…." A small grin rolled across my lips. Here I am, with no idea of what he wants or how he feels, and all I want is to hold his hand some more; to talk to him again. "What's wrong with me….?" Kate's right; I've never been like this before. I've never wanted a hand to hold before…. But I don't want just any hand- oh no. I want his hand. My head turned up to the stars high up above me; my hand tenderly rose up towards them.

I've never been in love before, so how would I know what that's like? I don't know if this is love. Maybe not since we barely know each other. But there is another feeling inside me- a real, sincere sensation caressing every inch of me. I don't know if I love Christian or not yet, but more than anything, I want to hold his hand…. Christian, the next time I see you, please say to me, you'll let me hold your hand.

At this last thought, all the lights in the park unexpectedly shut off and screams around me erupted.

Christian's P.O.V.-

I kept looking at the hand I held Anastasia's with yesterday. I could still sense her warmth on me. Her hand in mine…. it made it feel complete. It's like her hand was made for holding mine, and mine for holding hers protectively. Huh, I really should do some research on this imprinting thing. My fingers ran over the palm of my hand. Anastasia….

"Christian!" Elena's voice made me look up. She skipped over to me merrily, waving her hand in the air. "Oh, hi Elena." "Going back to campus now?" "Uh, y-yeah…. but you don't have to wait for me. Why don't you go back with the others?" "I wanted to ask if we could go back together, actually," she clasped her hands behind her back in a shy manner. Seriously, why is she always so shy around me? "Um, well actually….. I'm already…." I was going to see if Anastasia was ready to go home. I saw she was here with her friends earlier. But then again, they might be weirded out if a wolf just showed up out of nowhere to escort their friend back to campus. What should I do? I really want to see her, to make sure she's doing alright….

"You should go, Christian!" John caught me off guard. He smirked to us from over at the side of the booth. "Yeah!" Leo concurred. "Come on, you guys," I frowned over at them. "Please, Christian… I…. I waited until you were done, just so we could go back together." "Really? Why would you do that?" I asked, genuinely surprised. For some reason this made Leo roll his eyes and John shake his head. "He gives "dense" a whole new meeting," he muttered under his breath. What's that supposed to mean? I shot him a glare. But Elena didn't seem to mind, again for some odd reason.

"Gees, what's wrong with you, bro?! Just take her home already." "I agree. I think it'd be good for you, you know, to spend time with a chick for the first time in your life," Leo folded his arms. "I didn't ask for your opinions!" I fired, growing more irritated by the second. Why are they acting this way? It's almost like they think Elena likes me or something. It didn't help that she was smiling at me with pleading eyes.

She took a few steps towards me. "Y-you've done a really good job on the booth; I'm sure your coach will be really happy." "He's never happy," I retorted honestly. It's true; he's not. "Oh, he will be! Why wouldn't he? All the booths here look so good. The dunking booth, the lantern booth…. the kissing booth." "Yeah. Everyone's done a pretty good job," I shrugged and heard John smack his hand on his forehead.

Elena came even closer to me. "I want to visit all the booths this Friday night….. with you. All of them, especially the lantern booth. You know, they say that a couple that leaves a lit candle inside a lantern at the end of the night will be together forever. Christian, do you believe that?" "Hmmmm, I'm not sure about that," I pondered. Wolves mate for life; we don't need things like candles or legends. Then again…. anything to help my chances at getting Anastasia to stay close by. "It would be great if it was. Together forever…." I heard myself sigh wistfully at the thought. Elena was staring at me now; I don't know why.

"Ah, um, C-Christian. If you don't mind, on the day of the festival… could we…..?" But before she could finish her question, all the lights suddenly blacked out. Screaming could be heard almost immediately. "W-what?" She stuttered afraid. I took a few steps backwards. "It's a black out. This is bad!" And without having to tell her, we both ran back towards the others.

"Is everyone alright?!" My dominant, alpha instinct was kicking into gear. "Christian? Where are you?" John reached his hand out for me. That's right; Leo, Elena, and I are the only nocturnal animals in our group. It's up to us to help keep everyone else safe, particularly the herbivores. "I'm right here! Here, hold Elena's hand," I took both their wrists and guided them to each other. "Christian!" Elena tried to grab hold of my other hand, but I stepped away. "What's going on?" Leo then asked me panicked. "I think it's a power outage. It'll be alright. Just stay by the booth and watch out for any non-nocturnal animals who can't see." "Gotta." "I'm scared; I can't see anything," I heard others nearby freak out. Yes, it makes sense that everyone is scared right now. In the outside world, predation incidents always happen in the black of night. Predation incidents….

That's the instant all the blood in my veins ran ice cold; it was like I was suddenly placed inside a freezer. The world around me began deaf and colorless as I stared off into space. Anastasia! She's still here! She's at the festival grounds which means… she's in this black out too. It was like a flip had been switched not only in my mind but my whole body. My whole being was unconsciously transported into a state of hyperawareness. All my senses were ramped up by a hundred. I'd never felt anything like it before; the closest experience I can relate it to was back in the bathroom when Jack showed me that container of lamb's blood. Fear… this was pure, unadulterated, genuine terror. It was worse than being afraid for my own life- so, so much worse. I didn't care what happened to me; I couldn't give a damn about that. But Anastasia…..

"Leo! I have to be somewhere! Protect the others!" I commanded before flying as fast as my feet could carry me; I didn't even look back once. Everything I was in that moment was devoted to finding my mate. I'd heard of the protective instinct in carnivores before but never thought I'd experience it. But after a wolf imprints…. I shouldn't have been surprised.

"Anastasia!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, desperately scanning every square centimetre of the area. "Anastasia? Anastasia!" My feet came to a halt when I reached the empty journalism booth. Damn it all! She's not here. Where is she? Where's my mate? I want her here- I want her here and I mean now! I want her in my arms, where I can hear her sigh safe and sound…

"Ok," I had to get out of my racing head; the worries and panic were making it hard to strategize. "Calm down," my hand rose up to my forehead, running along the top of my hair. "Calm down; pick up some of her scent. Find her scent." That wasn't hard to do, once I forced myself to focus. "Focus…. Focus; follow it…." My eyes shut as I picked up on her pink scent perfuming the air. It was mild where I was standing but still strong enough for me to follow its trail. "Follow it!" My eyes eventually opened when I could pinpoint a direction. Controlling my panic was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in all my life just then. Dear god, please; I'll never ask you for anything again- just let her be safe. Please, please spare my mate; the only girl I'll ever look at. Please, let her be ok.

Her scent led me to a nearby patch of trees. It didn't take long to reach them- thank god. I could see a little figure curled up behind one of them. I was so relieved that my eyes grew so incredibly wide and my mouth actually opened as I gasped. "Thank goodness…. Thank goodness," I repeated over and over to myself as I slowly approached her. My eyes were lower and locked unwaveringly onto her now. When I turned the bend to the tree Anastasia was hiding behind, she instantly shuffled away along the grass.

"W-who's there?!" Her arm frantically rose up in front of her. That's right! I forget, she can't see in the dark like me. Not wanting to scare her, I got down on one knee and kept my voice low and gentle. "Anastasia, don't be afraid. It's me." "C-Christian?" She whimpered. Before I could respond, I unexpectedly felt two small arms fly around my neck. I could feel her trembling as she pressed herself into me. "Christian! You came! You found me!"

Then, like some sort of evil magic, all the lights came on at once. We both had an expression of awe and delight on our faces, but once in full view of the park, Anastasia retracted her arms and stumbled back a few steps. Her hands both clasped over her fluttering chest. And boy, how she was blushing. I, on the other hand… I couldn't move, and I think I forgot how to breathe in those precious, precious moments. But who cares about breathing? Anastasia hugged me… She threw her arms around me, when I came to find her…. An angel had embraced me for the first time, and it was my very own private taste of heaven.

"I'm so glad you're ok, Anastasia….." My hand lifted up to brush some stray hairs off her face. She blushed even harder- if that were possible- and tore her eyes shyly away. "I… I'm sorry. I couldn't see a thing, and I was just so afraid….. I didn't mean to….." "Are you hurt? Here, let me look at you," I scanned her whole body over multiple times for injury. I just felt better and better when I couldn't detect any blood on her. She's alright….. she's ok, after all. That's when I noticed the state of her uniform.

"Your uniform is all dirty from the grass. Here," I didn't hesitate to pull out my handkerchief and give it to her. I'd give anything to her right now. "Christian….." Now she was the one who hesitated, still blushing and looking as cute and adorable as ever. "It's alright; take it." "T-thank you." "Were you here the whole time?" Hey, yeah. Where are her friends? Why didn't they protect her?! If Paul was here… My mind instantly stopped itself. Paul… No, I'm not going to think about it now. What's important is that Anastasia is safe- safe and here with me. She's here where I can protect her. And I will.

What happened to me just there was out of my control. I became like a robot without free agency. But I'm so glad it did happen. I never thought about it before, but this instinct is remarkably useful. My overarching goal is to make sure nothing happens to Anastasia, and my body is designed to make that a reality. It's the most convenient thing in the world actually. I've never been more grateful to have such a basic instinct, a base desire. And here she is, right in front of me. Anastasia….

You're the part of me I've been missing for far too long.


	32. The Green-Eyed Monster

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

The bell rang and first period was over; time to go to our second class of the day. I popped in the bathroom in between classrooms. I recall I was washing my hands in front of the mirror when the door opened again; thank goodness we were alone in here. I glanced over to see a female wolf standing there, glaring my way. It took me a minute to recognize that she actually was glaring at me. Wait…. my feet unhurriedly shifted in her direction. She looks familiar; where have I seen her before? Hmmmmm. _"Watch where you're going, lamb chop."_ Oh, wait.

Her lips parted, making that horrid "tisk" sound in the process. Her hand rested on her hip in that way; she looked like one of those mean girls you'd see in the movies. The only difference between someone like her and Clarise? She's a carnivore. This would be my first time being bullied by a female carnivore at school. Oh boy, here it comes.

"Abby, right?" "Ana; Anastasia," I corrected, frowning. "Right. You're the… "active" girl on campus, aren't you?" "I don't know what you mean by that, but I prefer you not use such a passive-aggressive tone with me," ugh, I'm already done with her BS. Clearly, she wasn't. "Awe, well aren't you just the sweetest, little lamb ever? No wonder all the boys love you." "Oh, I wouldn't say that." "I would. I've heard about you- you have, heh, quite a reputation." "Falsely earned, I assure you," I rolled my eyes, about ready to leave. "Hmmmmm, you sure about that?" "Absolutely. Now if you excuse me…." But of course, she had to block my path. Her eyes intensified onto mine.

"You know, lamb chop, there're a lot of guys at this school." "I'm aware," I wanted to roll my eyes again. "And more than half of them are herbivores." "That's what the student directory says." "Right, so… tell me, why do you think you're entitled to every boy on campus, irrelevant of species?" "Huh?" My eyebrow raised. What's she talking about? "Heh, don't play dumb with me, hogget. I know you know…." "Know what?" She sighed, like this was trying for her. For her! Bitch.

"I can see you have short-term memory problems, so I'll help you remember. The festival, last night, the blackout… Any of this ringin' a bell?" Her hand waved circularly in front of her. "What are you talking about? What are you trying to say to me?" "I'm saying that you have a thing for apex predators, don't ya?" My heart skipped a beat. Oh…. oh no. What is happening? How could she…? She must have saw it on my face since she smirked like she had caught me red-handed.

"That's right; I saw you hug him over by the trees. You have a lot of nerve, throwing yourself at a wolf like that." "I didn't! I was just so surprised he found me," surprised and overjoyed. "Oh, don't flatter yourself. He didn't "find" you; Christian would never purposefully look for someone like you. You just happened to be in the right place at the right time." "I uh…" I don't know if that's true; sure didn't seem to be the case. My hand rose up to my chest at this wolf's daring to take a threatening step forward.

"Now you listen to me, you tramp. Stay away from Christian. A weak herbivore like you has no business even talking to him. You're not friends; you'll never be friends. So just focus on your own boyfriend and leave mine alone, got it? He's mine!" W-what is she talking about? Does she know Christian or something? A little flame inside of me kept growing and growing, fuelled by the way she disrespectfully barked at me. My frown was very wide by now and my eyes narrowed onto hers.

"Christian isn't your property; we can be friends if we want. Who cares if we're different species?" "Are you blind? The world cares! Who'll accept a lamb and wolf together, even just as friends? Seriously, what's wrong with you? Trying to get yourself eaten? Commit suicide by Christian's hands?" "Shut up! Christian would never hurt me or any herbivore! How dare you?!" Ok, that… that right there, made me angry. "You can't really want to be his friend, if you don't want him to eat you. Look, you've slept with most the boys at school; just pick one of them, or stick with Paul, and leave us alone. That clear enough for you, whore?" My eyes began to widen as I suddenly remembered something. She said this, and….. Both my hands dropped down at my sides as I continued to watch her with large, intent eyes. "Did you… imprint on Christian?"

The room was silent for a long moment. All I remember is my gaze going from her to the where the stalls were. My head moved without my will; it was slapped, making it involuntarily turn to the side. Those first few seconds right afterwards, I was so stunned I couldn't verbally react. I merely blinked back at her. The hatred on her face…. If looks could kill, I'd been dead in a matter of seconds.

"None of your business! And even if I did imprint on him, it wouldn't change anything! Christian and I are perfect for each other; we're both wolves and he's an alpha. We have a hell of a lot more in common than you and him will ever have; that's for sure." So…. she didn't imprint on Christian, then? Her smirk only widened, not phased but what she just told me at all. "It's definitely going to happen, no matter what anyone thinks. Besides, he's bound to imprint on me any day now- it takes a while sometimes. We're going to the spring festival together; we're going to light lanterns and everything. So I'd really appreciate it if you avoided him. Seriously, if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away," her tone grew very, very menacing near the end. My foot instinctively slid back; my bottom lip quivering a bit. She was a wolf, after all….

"A-are you… threatening me?" "Oh, don't you pull that shit with me. Don't go playing the "weak herbivore" victim card. I'm not threating you, moron; I'm telling you to stay away from my man. What's so threatening about that?" She's trying to backpedal….. badly. "Or what? You think you can boss me around because I'm a lamb? Is that it?" "Yeah, you are a lamb, and I wouldn't forget it if I were you," and I swear her eyes intensified their glare. "There aren't only male carnivores here on campus. Not that I'd ever eat you- I don't eat soiled meat."

That's it. She's dangerous; I could tell that about her. She didn't have time to react as I ran past her, shoving her out of the way of the door in the process. "Hey!" The female wolf shrieked on my way out. I didn't look forward; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. All I knew is that I had to get away from her- that witch. Of course I crashed into somebody; of course he had to steady me with both his hands on my shoulders. I peered up to see a baffled and concerned Paul, keeping his hands securely on me.

"Ana? What's wrong?" "P-Paul!" By now some bystanders were quietly observing, equally surprised as he was at my untimely arrival. Paul's eyes grew in worry as he inspected my face. "Why do you look like you're about to cry? Did something happen?" "Oh, Paul….." Here, now with him, I felt safe enough to finally let the tears fall. My lips couldn't stop trembling. "Ana! Are you alright? Tell me what's wrong. What happened?" It was Paul's turn to freak out. But that didn't last long- he understood pretty quickly what was going soon enough. Well, not everything but enough. He glanced over at the girl's bathroom door opening; the wolf poked her head outside to see us. Oh, the reactionary rage and abhorrence in Paul's expression and eyes. I instantly felt myself being pulled in closer to Paul; his hands wrapping protectively around my back.

Now it was her turn to look afraid; and I would be too, with Paul glaring at me like that.


	33. Decisions

Christian's P.O.V.-

"So, who are you gonna take to the spring festival? Gonna ask that cute wolf?" "What wolf?" George scratched his head. Despite all games being cancelled for the semester, some of us still got together to practice some plays every week or so. This afternoon it was Rob, Leo, George, Paul, and me. "You didn't hear? This super-hot wolf came to see Christian at the booth last night." "Last night? Before the power outage?" "Uh huh," Leo nodded his head excitedly. "Dude! You didn't tell me about this," after tossing the ball, Paul came to drape an arm over my shoulder in a friendly manner; he was grinning at me.

"Why don't you ask her, Christian? She so obviously likes you," Rob pressed. "What? No, she doesn't; we're just friends." "You shoulda seen him last night. She was practically throwing herself at him and this lunkhead couldn't take a hint," Leo laughed. "You guys are nuts. She doesn't like me." "Uh, yeah. She does; I'm telling you, that babe's got a thing for you, man." "You should go for it, bro! Bout time you got yourself a girlfriend," Paul went on to pat my back encouragingly. Ugh, I didn't need that from him right now…..

"Look, can we just forget about it?" I sighed, shutting my eyes. "Why? Aren't you going to at least invite her to the festival?" Leo just wouldn't let this drop. "Why should I? I'll see her there anyway." "Dude! It's supposed to be a date! You know, you and her… alone?" "If you're not going to ask her, then who are you gonna ask?" "No one!" I was losing my temper fairly quickly. There's only one girl I want to ask, but…. I don't know how it would look just the two of us going to the festival by ourselves like that. Thankfully the conversation drifted from me onto Paul, who had returned to his football.

"What about you, man? Who are you gonna bring?" "Who do you think?" Paul added a smirk for emphasis. "That girl? What's her name? Anastasia?" George inquired. And I felt my bones start to shake. What? What now? Did he just say….? I couldn't stop myself from noticing the organic smile forming across Paul's lips in that moment. "Yeah; I don't want to go with anyone else. Just her. We go every year together anyway; why break with tradition?" No… just no. He's got the wrong idea; he thinks that he can actually date Anastasia.

So. Not. Happening.

Anastasia is my mate: key word "my". Now I know both Paul and Anastasia are unaware of this; no one else knows that I've imprinted on Anastasia but me. Still…. My eyes lowered a tad.

No, it would be cruel to let this go any further. I did genuinely like Paul, when I thought about it. He's been nothing but a good friend to me. He stuck up for me when I punched Jack first that game….. He's always been unwaveringly on my side. It's not like I can just step back and let them be together either- that's physically not possible. But this isn't fair to Paul; neither him nor Anastasia. I wanted to wait for a bit longer, just so I could get closer to her naturally. I don't want Anastasia to think I only love her because I imprinted on her; that's not it at all. And she might not understand how imprinting works, but…. but I think the time has come. I can't wait any longer. I need to tell her what's happened and what that means. I need to let them know, before either of them gets hurt. This is no one's fault; not Paul's or Anastasia's or mine. It's just the way things worked out. But the sooner they know- the sooner she knows- the better. Then they will be able to preserve their friendship and Paul can finally move on. I owe him that much…

"See Christian? Maybe you and Elena can make it a tradition too," Leo sighed, and I had to fight the urge to pull out my hair. "Hey, yeah! We could meet up- do a double-date thing while we're there," Paul chimed. Yeah, no; no one's dating anyone, period. Well, unless it's Anastasia and me; but that's inevitable. Wolves mate for life, so it's a done deal for me.

And her.

"Christian!" "Ah, speak of the devil," Leo, George, and I turned to find Elena running towards us with her hand waving in the air. Paul was too busy tossing Rob the ball to see….. for like the first few seconds. "Well, hello there, Elena. How are you this afternoon?" Leo said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Fine, thank you. Sorry to just show up like this. I saw you practicing from the window and….. wanted to come say hello," she blushed, acting all shy as per usual. Leo and George grinned at each other, and I wanted to roll my eyes but refrained.

"H-how are you, Christian?" "Fine, thank you. How are you?" "I'm good! I'm looking forward to the festival…" her foot dug into the ground. "Hear that, Grey? She's excited for the festival." I heard, I growled lightly. "Erm, I wanted to ask… if you're done with practice, would you…. er…. have you had dinner yet?"

Before I could answer, Paul turned around and immediately stopped. The atmosphere completely changed as they spotted one another; Elena's expression morphing to one of fear and dread, and Paul's fury. Even I felt a little nervous for her as he took a heavy, pointed step forward.

"You!" "Uh! Um! Uh!" Elena spattered, unable to construct a coherent sentence. The rest of us simply observed in utter confusion from the side. "Ok, listen up! The next time you wanna pick on my girl, I suggest you do it in front of me. Cornering her in the bathroom; you got some real class there, girl. But I'm warning you, if you ever make her cry again, I swear to god…." "Whoa, Paul; calm down," George saw fit to intervene. "What's wrong with you, man? Do you know her?" Leo shot a look at Paul, clearly upset by the way he spoke to Elena. Wait, he just said "his girl". I can't be sure, but I have a pretty good idea of who he means. But that would mean…. And I blinked to the frightened and embarrassed Elena with wide eyes.

Elena's hands were gathered on her chest as she tried to look as meek and small as possible. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't know she was your girlfriend." Girlfriend? This set a pulsing vein off in my head. That's one way to blow a blood vessel. "I sincerely doubt that. Or maybe you're telling the truth," Paul growled lowly. "Course she is. Who would bully your girlfriend? You'd have to be a total moron… Hey, wait? You made Anastasia cry?" George looked down to Elena puzzled. "N-no! It was a misunderstanding! It won't happen again, I promise. I just wanted to speak to Christian…" "You stay away from Christian. He's too good for a manipulative, mean girl like you," Paul stuck out his finger at her. Paul! This made me blink at him in complete surprise. Here he was, moments earlier telling me to pursue Elena, and now he's telling her to keep clear of me. I still didn't understand what was occurring- not in the slightest. And judging by the looks on Leo, George, and Rob's faces, neither did they.

"Paul!" Leo gasped shocked. Elena responded by running away with her now teary eyes in her hands. George and Rob shot Paul the most unimpressed of glares. "Dude, what was all that about?" "Yeah, what's your problem?" "My problem? That bitch made Ana cry earlier today. I don't care who they are; no one bullies Ana. No one." Wait, Anastasia was crying?! "Where is she?!" I asked Paul admittedly too loud and fast; it's no wonder it took him by surprise. He blinked at me a couple of times before softening his expression.

"Oh, don't worry; she's fine now. We had a talk and I made sure she was alright before coming to practice. She isn't going to let what happened with Elena bother her." "But where is she? Are you sure she's alright?" "Uh, I think she went to the movies with Kate," Paul glanced upward like he was trying to remember. Then his eyes drew back down to me and he smiled warmly. I had to stop myself from flinching when his broad hand rested on my shoulder.

"I appreciate your concern, man. Ana's a really sweet girl; leave it to her to make friends with an apex predator like you. But you don't have to worry; she may be weak but I'm all the muscle she needs. Heh, Elena won't be bothering her again," he cracked another grin. "Not after that," Rob agreed, and the others nodded. Meanwhile, all I could do was stare at Paul; Paul and that grin on his face.

Look at him. He's such a good friend, even now. And he does care about Anastasia as well…. I drew in a deep, long breath. It's time; I have to tell her. Paul will find out soon enough; soon enough that he won't get too attached or hurt. Even if we keep it a secret between us- even if it's just Anastasia and me who know- that'll be enough. Just so that she knows… and neither of them get hurt in the future. I don't want that, for my mate or my friend.


	34. A Misguided Situation

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"_You sure you're doing alright?"_ "I'm fine, Paul; really," I grinned. Currently I was sitting on my dorm room floor with my back resting up against the side of my bed. There was a very comforting pillow in my lap which I cuddled into. _"Ok, good. You got nothing to worry about. You'll be happy to hear that I told that bitch, Elena, off today."_ "You did?" My eyes grew a little. _"Yes; she won't be bothering you anymore."_ "Thank you, Paul," my smile deepened. He's always looking out for me…..

"_You're welcome. So you just gonna go to bed, then?"_ "Yeah, I'm tired. The movie was good but really crowded; we should have waited until next week." _"Nah, I think it's good you got out; I would have joined you if I didn't have practice." _"That's ok; I'll see you soon anyway." _"Speaking of which, what time did you want to go to the festival?"_ "Uh, the festival?" I perked up. _"Yeah, this Friday night. What time do you want me to pick you up?"_ "Well uh….. I guess… I guess eight works? But we'll have to meet there; I'm manning the journalism booth from five til eight." _"Sounds good. I'll meet you there, then."_ "Yeah, see you there," my eyes lowered. _"Have a good sleep, Ana."_ "You too, Paul. Thanks again for checking in on me." _"Anytime! Night!" _"Good night." Click!

The festival…. I snuggled closely into my pillow. I wonder if Christian is going to be there? Well clearly he's going to be there; he is part of the football team. It's just… _"We're going to the spring festival together; we're going to light lanterns and everything." _Is that true? She said that, but are they really…? _"Christian and I are perfect for each other; we're both wolves and he's an alpha." _Oh, why do I keep trying to kid myself? She's right; of course I know she's right. She and Christian would be the picture-perfect couple, and while it would break my heart to see him wind up with a girl like that, I can see she her point crystal-clear. They're the same species; they don't have to worry about going out in public together. It's socially encouraged that they should date; I don't know if wolves have to date who they imprint on exclusively. I have no clue how imprinting works. But that doesn't really matter I don't think. They could get together, if they really wanted to….

But what should I do? Elena told me to stay away from Christian, and despite Paul saying that he's dealt with her, I still feel really weird about the whole thing. I can't help but agree with her on some level. I've been raised to believe I'll marry an herbivore; I've never met a carnivore and herbivore couple before. It just seemed so natural that I would, like graduating from high school or getting my period. These sorts of things just happen in life… But Christian… He's the first boy to ever make me question what I thought was fact. He's making me question everything…

I think it's more than obvious now: I like Christian. I like him a lot, even though I know I shouldn't…. God, what's wrong with me? I'm a lamb and he's a wolf…. Then again, does that really matter in the end? Of course it does! But… does it really? Ugh! I'm all mixed up. I've been really confused lately, and I keep getting more and more confused each time he smiles at me. Christian…. His face flashed through my mind. Christian! I want to see you, Christian. I want to hear the soothing sound of your dominant voice; I want to hold your hand. I want to stay by your side, Christian….

My head rested its side on top of the pillow. Maybe I should tell him how I feel. I doubt it'll do any good though. Elena's right. Whether I ignore it or not, Christian is a wolf and I am a lamb. We weren't meant to be together; it's not like he'll ever imprint on someone like me. He deserves to be the lady he imprints on…. that lucky, lucky lady.

"What's the point of even telling him, then?!" I fired off frustrated with myself. It's not like it'll change anything… it might freak him out actually. A lamb, confessing her feelings to an apex predator? That's definitely unheard of. Still…. "Nugh, where does that leave me? Am I just supposed to pine from a distance for the rest of my life? I don't want that….." I want to tell him how I feel; I want to say how much I like him, how unbearably happy he makes me…. how much I love that smile of his.

My lips parted to let out a long, upset sigh. I hate Elena; I truly hate her, but…. There's always a "but". She has a point; anyone can see that, including me. As much as I would love to go to the festival with Christian, to hold his hand, it's ultimately impossible. Society wouldn't like it, and even if no one cared, I still have no proof that Christian even likes me as more than a friend. He's always be so shy and hesitant to get too close to me. I used to think he was respecting my boundaries and trying not to scare me, but maybe it's something else. Maybe… Both my hands balled into little fists. I'm lucky I had that run-in with Elena in reality; it was a real wakeup call. Christian and I are friends, but we can't be more than that. I doubt he even wants to be more than that… it would be so much easier for him to pick Elena over me, and I care for him too much to stand in his way. That's because more than anything, I want Christian to be happy… I want to hold his hand so, so much; but I want him to smile more. This means that'll just have to except the fact….

There's no room for me in his heart. Me, a lamb? Why would there be?

I think I've made my decision too. I'll tell Christian how I really feel; the sooner, the better. I'll be honest with him about everything, then we can move forward as just friends- assuming he still wants to be friends that is. He'll go off to date Elena or some other wolf, and I'll move on too, I guess. But I don't want to date anyone else. I don't know how long it'll take me to get over Christian, but it won't be anytime soon- that's for sure. Yes, the sooner I tell him, the better. Once I do that, we can put this whole thing behind us.

Then we'll finally have the chance to get back to our normal lives.


	35. The Need to Confess

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

It all began at the festival grounds the next day.

"Anastasia." I spun around outside my booth where I was stapling flyers to find Christian right behind me. Oh god… oh god, he's here; my heart expectedly skipped a beat. Several beats. We hadn't seen each other since that night of the black out a couple of days ago. It was actually last night that I decided I would… I would… No, I reminded myself to take a deep breath. You don't have to blurt it out now; just take your time. Tell him when you're ready, Anastasia. With that confirmation, I smiled brightly at him. It didn't help that I was so incredibly happy to see him all of a sudden….

"H-Hi, Christian! S-Sorry, I didn't realize you were here already. Getting your booth ready for tomorrow night?" I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. I took note that his eyes were locked firmly onto mine; more so than usual. Funny, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he had something to tell me too. But that's probably wishful thinking on my part. "No… I… I came here to see you, actually." Wow! Talk about all my cells jumping for joy. But I did my best to look calm and collected on the outside. No, don't get your hopes up, Anastasia; don't do that to yourself. You don't know what he wants to talk about yet. "O-oh, really? W-why?" My voice sounded embarrassingly shaky, not that he noticed; I couldn't tell if he did.

"Anastasia, I….. I…" He's struggling to speak to me. Why? What does he want to say that's so hard? I'm the one who should be stressed right now, what with my confession and everything about to happen. My eyes widened as he drew in a long, cleansing breath; he shut his eyes for a moment. "There's something I have to tell you, Anastasia. It's very important that you know, but…. but also know that I don't mean to ruin anything with my feelings. You must understand that." W-what is he talking about? His feelings? My hand raised up to my pounding chest on its own accord. His lungs sucked in another long breath.

Everything in me froze as his hand quite suddenly reached out to take hold of mine. W-wha-! He's… he's holding my hand! We're holding hands again! Words cannot accurately describe the shade of red I turned, standing there like an immovable statue with my hand in his. I felt his fingers curl around the side of my hand, grasping it tight. All I could was stare… stare and forget how to breathe momentarily.

"You're important to me, Anastasia; and I respect Paul as well." Paul? What does he mean? How could he possibly harm a tank like Paul? He is a rhino, after all. Wait… did he just say I was important to him? "I don't want to cause either of you any harm, especially with how society is now. All I am asking is that you hear my feelings." "Christian!" Seriously, is this happening? Have I died and gone to heaven? Is he… is what's happening really what I think is happening? "I know this must be a bit confusing for you, what with me saying this all of a sudden. Do you…. er, do you know imprinting is, Anastasia?" "Imprinting? I-I've heard about it, but I don't know anything…."

Christian paused for a minute, his fingers giving my hand one final squeeze before eventually releasing it. The cold wind felt like a cruel joke against my now bare palm and fingers. "Tomorrow, at the spring festival… let's meet here in the evening. Let me tell you exactly how I feel; what's going with me, us." "C-Christian?" Dear lord, is it possible to die of happiness? I think it might be. He smiled a bit for the first time since he arrived. "I know this is a little too sudden; I'm sorry. I wanted to wait a bit longer, but… Instead, I want to give you some time now; as long as you know its tomorrow, you'll be able to mentally prepare for it." Mentally prepare for what? I don't understand what he means. What do I need to mentally prepare for? Is this a carnivore thing?

"A-Alright." "Then, tomorrow," he let out what seemed like a relieved sigh. Hey, wait. When am I going to confess to him, then? What about my original plan? There's still so much I need to say to him too. "Uh, Christian!" I jolted with a little too much pep. He blinked down at me and I immediately blushed in a shy fashion again. "Erm, t-there's something I want to tell you too. C-can I also do that tomorrow night?" "Of course. You can tell me anything any time you want, Anastasia." God, I hate it when he says things like that; I hate it cause I love it way, waaaaaaaay too much. I think…. I think Christian might confess to me too, but I still have no way of knowing. Either way, I just feel so light and joyous now. I feel like I could fly. Ok, stay calm, Anastasia; you can do this. Just wait until tomorrow night when you can tell him everything. Who knows? Maybe I was wrong- maybe both Elena and I were wrong. Maybe carnivores and herbivores can be a thing.

Only one way to find out.


	36. Abduction

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"Tonight…. tonight…. wait." "Uh, Anny? What are you talking about?" Jose raised his eyebrow up at me. We were setting up the booth for tonight's festival. Though I'll admit, my mind was elsewhere. Christian asked me to meet him here tonight, and I agreed enthusiastically. But… ever since then, something's been nagging at my mind. Why was "tomorrow night" ringing a bell? Hmmmmm, think, Anastasia; think. My eyes grew as something unexpectedly popped in my head. Oh wait….

"Paul! I totally forgot about Paul tonight!" I practically threw the newspaper in my hand. "Hey, watch it!" Jose frowned. But his toon changed once he saw the look of horror on my face. Oh, man; I'm such an idiot. I can't believe what an idiot I am! How could I double-book like that? I was just out-of-it last night that I automatically said "yes" to Christian last night. And I actually agreed to go with Paul first…. Ugh, this is horrible! My hand rose up to my head in agony. "Anny?" Meanwhile Jose observed my mental meltdown with concern.

"What am I going to do? I told him "yes". I told them both "yes". Nugh!" "Told who yes?" Jose asked a bit curious. "Paul. I… I agreed to go to the festival with him." "Oh. Well, you two go every year together. That's nothing new." "No; no, no, no. I said I'd go with him but that was before…." My brain cut me off before I accidently revealed myself. Jose blinked puzzled. "Before what?" "Befooooooore I uh….. double-booked myself?" "What? With who? That mystery guy you like?" Oh, I hated that smirk on his smug face just now.

I sighed heavily while closing my eyes for a minute. "I made a mistake, and to be fair, Paul did ask me first…." "Bruh, I don't get why you just don't date him. Paul's loved you for a long time now." "Don't say that," I snapped back. "Why? It's true. He freaked out at that Chargers game because of you." "What are you talking about? No, he didn't; he said a fight just broke out. It happens." "Yeah, but did you ever ask why that fight started in the first place? Paul likes you; he never looks at any girl but you." "No, you don't know what you're talking about, Jose. Paul and I are friends- just friends. He doesn't like me like that, and I don't like him." "You don't like him?" "Well, yes; but platonically- as a friend. That's it."

It was Jose's turn to sigh exasperated. He's exasperated? My frown only grew when he had the nerve to roll his eyes. "Seriously. How blind can you be?" "I'm not blind!" "Yes, you are. Here you have a guy literally throwing himself at your feet, and you remain oblivious. Face it: you can't tell when a guy's into you." "That's not true! I would know! I would…. wouldn't I?" Wouldn't I? Jose merely shook his head; his hands resting on his hips. He sighed again. "You gotta trust me on this- Paul likes you. It's so obvious to everyone except you apparently. And it'll really hurt him if you blow him off for some guy who probably doesn't like you. Not like Paul does anyway. Open your eyes, girl. Paul's a good catch; you won't find someone as devoted and loyal to you as him. He doesn't even notice all the other girls hitting on him because he's too busy thinking about you. Seriously, how do you not see it?"

Paul…. a good catch for me? My hand rose up to my saddened chest. I hear what Jose is saying and a part of me even agrees with him. Unlike me and Christian, society would accept Paul and I. We wouldn't have to be afraid to hold hands in public or go anywhere together. Just like Christian and Elena, it would be easy for him and I…. A hell of a lot easier than with Christian. But… but I'm not looking for "easy"; I could care less about that. _"I don't care about that! I care about you!"_ Christian's the only boy who has ever made my protective instincts activate, if that's the right word. He's the only boy who has made my heart beat out of my chest and made me almost cry simply by smiling at me. I admire Christian; he has so many traits and characteristics I like about him. It's the same with Paul too, but… it's also so incredibly different. Maybe I'm not the best at telling when a guy likes me; like really likes me for me. But Christian is the first guy I can definitely say I like. Doesn't that mean something? Shouldn't that matter too?

"Just go with Paul tonight. That's you planned originally and besides, you think Paul's just gonna sit by quietly if you go with some random dude?" Yeeeeeeeeeeah, he's got a point there. Paul wasn't afraid to speak his mind or defend what he thinks is his. Oh boy; I hadn't thought about that. Paul isn't an enemy you want to have. And Christian and him are on the same football team too. _"And I respect Paul as well."_ Hang on a minute; Christian did say that too…. Wait.

I flinched; my train of thought being broken by Jose gathering up some stuff. "Come on, let's start cleaning up and getting ready. It'll be five soon." "Uh, ok; sure," I immediately followed suit, still mulling over what to do. The one I really want to speak to is Christian, but Paul… Ugh! When did life get so bloody complicated?! "I'll just bring these around here," Jose called out to me. "Sure," I waved at him. Once he was out of sight momentarily, I started piling stacks of school newspapers in my arms.

What I am about to describe is going to sound disjointed. It sounds that way because it was very, very disjointed for me. As my hand reached for another paper, it froze midair; my whole being froze stiff as a board. This feeling…. My eyes widened as my heart raced a mile a minute. I know this feeling; it's the same feeling I had that night I was attacked. Sick, almost like nausea, and the sensation of being watched. More like stalked, and by someone with malicious intent. I could feel eyes on me, scanning me over and over; it's like whoever it was was assessing me. Sizing me up…..

It was that sense of being in danger- in real, life-threatening danger- where every move could be your last.

That feeling was definitely warranted. Voices and shallow sounds soon came from the shadows. "Is that her?" A strange, deep, adult, male voice. "Yeah, that's the one," another male voice. I didn't have time to move my feet and try to run away. Within the blink of an eye, two strong, large hands reached out from behind one of the oak trees, and also behind me. One hand covered my mouth while the other snaked across my waist. I was lifted off my feet into the air, pressed up against this guy. That's when I saw a white tiger- I'd say around thirty years old- appear and smile at me. "She's too good for the Black Market. The boss will be pleased with her." Oh my god… oh my god! I'm being abducted! These adult carnivores are kidnapping me!

My body went into survival mode with me wiggling and trying to make any sort of sound. But the lion currently holding me wouldn't let me budge. This all happened within the span of five seconds and before I knew we were moving, they were running with me in hand. Jose turned the corner of the booth to see them take off with me. "Ana!" I heard him shriek and then chase after us. "Go!" The lion ordered the tiger. We left the festival grounds in less than a minute and I heard Jose screaming my name a couple more times. I'm not quite sure what happened after that. I remember something hitting top of my head and everything went black pretty fast.

Christian's P.O.V.-

"Ok, men! Just because we can't promote team spirit on the football field this term doesn't mean we can't show our school spirit. I want you to work that booth so hard and earn those jerseys. You hear me?" "Yes, coach," we groaned in unison. "Now that's more like it! I wanna see real enthusiasm out there! Draw in the crowds! Show 'em what their school team is made of." "Yes, coach," another long moan. "Ok! Tyler, Clayton! You've the first shift! The rest of you….."

"Paul! Paul!" We all turned in surprise to see a giraffe running frantically towards us; his hand was high up in the air and he was sweating profusely. Wait, I know this dude, I thought as my eyes widened a tad. His name's Jose, right? While Paul immediately stood up, it was coach who shouted back first.

"What are you doin', boy?! Can't you see we're in the middle of something?" Coach barked annoyed. To our shock, Jose was somehow entirely able to ignore him, rushing up to Paul instead. Their bodies collided as Jose grabbed onto Paul's shirt in a panicked fashion. "Paul, they took her! They took Ana!"

"What?!" Both Paul and I leaned in closer to Jose. Just like before, back when that black out happened, it was like a literal flip had been switched inside my brain. All thoughts not centring around Anastasia were shut off; I could have been on fire and wouldn't have noticed. Every fibre, every atom of me was alive and alert- and ready for action I might add. Jose had my full attention, and judging by the sudden pale look on Paul's face, he had his too.


	37. Compromise

Christian's P.O.V.-

"What are you doing?!" "How many men do you have on this case?!" "Why haven't we heard anything yet?! What's taking so goddamn long?!" "How could she have been "snatched up" on festival grounds like that?"

Paul and I weren't giving the sergeant or any of the other police officers a chance to get a word in edge wise. We were both demanding answers to numerous questions- all centring on where Anastasia might be now and what's happened to her. The sergeant raised both his hands up to wave calmly in the air out in front of him.

"Look, I know you're worried about your friend; I get that. But you gotta trust that we're doing everything in our power to find her," his voice was infuriatingly tame considering the severity of the situation. My hands banged down loudly on his desk. "That's not good enough!" "There's gotta be something we can do," Paul was quieter than me- a tiny bit. "We you boys can do is go back to school. Your principal will let you know if there's any news," the sergeant told us. Now, he was panther and I strongly believed against using my claws and teeth for any sort of violence, but man- right then I had to fight the mounting urge to rip his throat out. This asshole wasn't letting me do anything; this isn't just some random animal picked up off the street. This was my mate we're talking about- my one and only mate. The only mate I'll ever have… The very notion made my hands ball into fists unconsciously as I let out a low, menacing growl.

"I don't understand it. Why would anyone want to kidnap Ana?" Paul pondered out loud. Oh right, I blinked to him in realization. He doesn't know…. "I cannot say for certain, but my best guess is that Miss Steele was abducted to be sold on the black market," the sergeant said. It took everything I had not to kill him right then and there for even daring to suggest that such a thing could happen to Anastasia. But Paul…. He merely blinked confused. "Wait? I thought the black market was only a myth? One of those rumours….?" "I assure you, it isn't. And you two better stay clear of that god-forsaken hellhole- you hear me? That place is dangerous even for apex predators who don't know what they're doing." "Wait, so… Anastasia's at the black market?" My eyes began to instinctively widen. I know where that is; I've been there before.

The sergeant folded his arms and sighed. "We can't be sure. The Dollars have been acting up in the area for some time now. My sources are fairly confident that they're responsible for the previous deaths and disappearances these past few weeks." Hold on, Dollars? Like some sort of gang? Thankfully Paul asked for me. "Are these "Dollars" at the black market?" The head of the police division shook his head. "They're a local gang- very deadly. Their leader is a grey wolf by the name of Eric Lincoln." Wait…. wait a second. A wolf? A grey wolf? Why does that sound so familiar? _"Didn't you hear? Apparently a grey wolf was calling all the shots after all!" _Gasp! No, could it be? That same wolf who killed that girl- the one I heard about on the news the day I met Elena- could he be the same carnivore who stole Anastasia?

Oh, how the blood drained from Paul's face; and mine as well I'm sure. I don't really know; I was kind of numb to my body at this point. Like I said, you could chop off one of my hands now and I likely wouldn't notice. "We have to find him! This Lincoln creep! Find him and we'll find Ana!" Paul stated his flawed logic. The sergeant and his men eyed us for another moment, then he stood up out of his chair.

"Like I told you boys before: go home. Let us do our job- we'll find your friend." That's when something inside me snapped. I'd had enough of this asshole and his composed demeanour. My mate was out there and needed our help. Like hell I was going to sit by while my woman was in danger- oh, hell no. I think everyone knew what was up when I suddenly- and silently I might add- spun around to march straight towards the door out of the room. "Christian?" Paul watched me stunned. "Hey! Don't go doing anything stupid now! There's nothing you can do. I'm sorry, but that's the reality of the situation." That's when I shot back a very threatening glare; I didn't hold back any emotion on my face. My eyes must have been glowing red, they felt like they were on fire.

"We'll see about that."

With that, I left them all there with their mouths agape. Who gives a damn if I'm a carnivore and that was perceived as a threatening act just now? I'm a wolf, and like I've decided a little while ago, I'm going to be a wolf god dammit.

"Christian! Christian, wait up!" My feet didn't pause at the clatter of Paul's shoes clashing onto the floor. He ran over to me, breathing heavily. I didn't even acknowledge his presence now at my side, trying to keep up with my pace. "Dude, what was that? You totally just bore your fangs at them." "I don't care. I'm going to find Anastasia." "Your protective instinct is going into overdrive; you're fuming like a radiator," Paul noted with somewhat surprise in his tone. "You think yours isn't?" "Well, yeah; but it's understandable for me. I love…."

That made my feet screech to a halt, followed by Paul's feet. I looked at him and him at me. "What did you say?" I asked him, trying not to sound like I was about to kill him. Paul wavered for a bit, as if registering to himself what he just said out loud. "I…. I love her; I love Ana," Paul's eyes drifted out into nowhere. I, meanwhile….

No, don't attack him; don't attack him, Christian. He's your friend; he doesn't know that you've imprinted on Anastasia. I had to close my eyes to physically steady myself; breathing normally suddenly began a laborious task. But Paul glanced back at me as if he had no clue what was going on with me presently.

"Christian…." No; no, don't say it; I don't want to hear it. I can't hear it! "Paul!" My lips cut him off before he had the chance to continue. My body turned in such a way I was directly facing him; our eyes locked. "I'm asking you, as a friend, please…. please help me find Anastasia." Of course Paul blinked startled but I continued my plea. "I'm begging you. Nothing can happen to her- not a thing. We need to find her, and we need to do it now. I know where the black market is. We'll be able to learn something faster if we both go. Please Paul, please…." My eyes softened onto his.

Paul merely stared at me for a moment; his eyes very wide and stunned by now. Eventually however, they lowered a bit in understanding. "I think I get it. You're in love… with Ana?" No use in hiding it any longer. "I've imprinted on her." This made his eyes grow even larger, but I don't think he grasped the full concept of imprinting. Judging by what he said next, I know he didn't. "I… love her," he uttered in a whisper this time.

Paul and I looked at one another for a brief second before we both relaxed our postures a bit; only a bit, mind you. "You want to save her?" "More than anything," though I wouldn't call it a "want"; more like a "need". "Yeah, me too," Paul's eyes lowered slightly. Then he stuck out his hand to me. "Let's do it." Realizing what was happening, I reached out to shake Paul's hand. Then we let go and straightened up our backs again.

"So? Where's the black market?"


	38. Eric Lincoln

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

The first thing I remember upon regaining consciousness is the feeling of being carried. My eyes fluttered open to see the white tiger's face above me; he was carrying me princess-style in his arms. I must have jolted or something because he knew I was awake and glared down at me before I had the chance to even scream. "Don't move or say a word. I'll break both your legs if you try and make a run for it." W-what? "He said he wanted her unharmed, Jones," the lion, who was walking beside us side-glanced at the tiger.

It's about then that I realized we were currently climbing up a staircase. The area was dark but was lit enough for me to see their faces. If I had to guess, we were probably in some abandoned building. We finally reached the top of the staircase and the lion opened the door at the far end of the hallway. The inside of this particular room was lighter; each door we passed was totally black from under the door crack. The lion and tiger entered with me in toe without a word. I blinked as I was carefully set to my feet. The lion then shut the door behind him, destroying any attempt of escape on my part.

While I was eyeing the door, both men were staring at something- or someone- behind me. My head reluctantly turned and that's when I saw him. This massive, alpha grey wolf. He was sitting in a chair with one hand resting on his lips. He wore expensive-looking clothes and black shoes. The one feature to really stand out from him was his different colour eyes; one was blue and the other brown, almost crimson. He was ogling me, and I do mean ogling. The look in his eyes just now…. My instinctively raised up to my chest as my foot stepped backwards. I swear I'd never seen anyone stare at me with that much desire…. that much lust.

"Well now, what have we here?" I don't even want to describe the sinister, sickening sound of his voice. While Christian's was the perfect mixture of a promise of sin and salvation, his was only sin- pure evil. I could tell by the way he spoke, he wanted to hurt me. More than that- most likely eat me. Oh my god…. My eyes widened in sheer horror. Oh my god!

"A young lamb, as per your request boss," the lion explained. "Well done," the wolf's tongue ran across his sharp teeth hungrily. The sicko then waved his hands at his goons so to shoo them away. "Thank you. You may leave us, gentlemen." The lion and tiger glanced at each other before exiting without another word. I did the door lock behind them after it closed a second time. The terrifying reality of the situation started to quickly sink in; it felt like my mind was in quicksand. They left us… I'm all alone in here… My eyes rolled back to the wolf through the corner of my eye. Alone… with him.

I thought I was actually going to vomit all over the hard-wood floor at the smile he was now flashing me. His hand lowered down from his mouth. "Wow. I wanted a lamb, but I didn't expect them to bring you. You're beautiful….." My arm raised up in front of me defensively; my breathing was very low and silent now. He chuckled, once again triggering my gag reflect. "Awe, look at you; you're scared. Now, that won't do. Hogget tastes best when its tender…. and untouched." This… this monster. I have to get away… I have to get away from him!

"Ah, but where are my manners? I believe introductions are in order. I am Eric Lincoln, head of the Dollars. And you are, my dear?" Like hell I was going to tell him my name! But the yearning deep, deep in his eyes made me want to do everything in my power not to make him angry. He could tear me in half- making him mad at me was a very, very bad idea. He leaned back in his chair, spreading both arms out beside him in a comfortable fashion. "Oh, darling- no need to be bashful. Your name; I just want your name," the way he ended his sentence made me change my mind instantly. "A-Ana… Anastasia…." I uttered with no conviction. "Anastasia? Anastasia…." Oh, gross! The way he savoured my name in his mouth like that; like he could almost taste it…. or me. I flinched once again when his eyes sharpened onto me, or rather my whole body.

"You have questions." "U-uh….." "Well, let me answer a few of them," he proceeded to rest the side of his head on his fist and shut his eyes. I didn't dare say anything, waiting for him to continue, which he did rather fast. "Yes- you're still in the city centre. No- no one knows where you are. And yes- you were brought here for the sole purpose of my consumption." "N-no…." I shifted away from him. No…. no, this can't be real. This can't be happening.

As if to be reading my mind, his nauseating grin grew. "You've had quite a life, haven't you? I can smell it; I can smell him. Your essence radiates your presence in him." "W-who?" Who the heck is he talking about? He chuckled again and I felt like I was going to cry. "You mean you don't know? Why my little cherub, you've been imprinted on." "I-Imprinted?" I repeated, totally lost and terrified out of my skull. What does he mean "imprinted"? I thought only wolves can imprint- they do that on their mates, right? I only know one wolf….. Wait. _"Do you…. er, do you know imprinting is?"_ My eyes began to widen in disbelief. Christian asked me that….

Only then did Lincoln's grin began to fade. His fingers folded out in front of him. "Not that it matters now. Personally, I don't concern myself with all that much; I've never imprinted on anyone before. But…." And he paused, but only for a moment. "But I did have a mate once. Gorgeous creature; stayed loyally at my side for twenty years. I wouldn't have created the Dollars if she wasn't murdered in cold blood right in front of me. And now, each year on the day she departed from my life, I honour her by devouring her favourite meal. Can you guess what that is?" No, this is sick, my feet just kept shuffling backwards. This is beyond the realm of sick and twisted.

"It's been oh, seven years since then? I know, right? Us wolves age wonderfully. But don't worry; I only kill and eat one animal per year. It keeps the experience fresh and meaningful that way," my heart dropped out of my chest and onto the floor when he suddenly stood up out of his comfy chair. His arms rested intently down at his sides. "W-why….?" I couldn't finish my question; I was that petrified. "Why am I telling you all this? Eh, why not? You're about to die anyways. You might as well know why; not that I imagine it's very comforting for you," a tear dripped down my cheek at him taking a step towards me.

Lincoln took another step and parted his lips a sliver. The lust in his eyes right then and there…. "Damn. I mean look at you. I wasn't lying when I said I've eaten lambs before, but you…. You're something else; something precious. Maybe it's that wolf's scent all over you, or maybe…." I had to shut my eyes as he smiled, displaying his fangs to me in a wide, toothy grin. "Maybe it's because you've experienced real fear before. It peppers your meat like seasoning."

Him! My eyes shot open in horrific realization. It's him! He's the one who attacked me that night on campus! The one who killed Tom! He's found me again! Seeing this, I shrieked and tossed myself back onto the floor; I'm not sure why. I think my body just wanted to get as far as physically possible away from him, which wasn't the far considering the size of the room. Lincoln actually blinked at me in surprise, like he didn't understand what I was doing.

"G-get away from me!" My voice cracked as my arm shot up blocking my head. "What are you doing?" Like he had to ask… "D-don't touch me! Don't touch me again!" "Again? Sweetheart, I haven't laid a hand on you- yet," I was almost convinced to believe him by the sincerity in his voice. But I was no fool. "You...! You attacked me at school!" "Huh? What are you talking about?" His eyebrow rose up. "That night! You scratched my arm! You were going to kill me, like you killed Tom!" "Tom? Tom, Tom…. Oh, the boy!" His fingers snapped.

Lincoln then watched me for a really tense minute before relaxing his posture a bit. "I see. So you've been attacked before, have you? No, sorry, sugar. I never attacked you or anyone on any school property. I did give Jones's son permission to hunt one of his classmates a couple of months ago, if that's what you're referring to. I'm pretty sure the boy's name was Tom, but I could be mistaken. As for you, well I can't help you there. All I know is that the Dollars are forbidden from killing or eating lambs," his gruesome, revolting smile returned.

"That's a luxury I reserve for myself."

That did it. I don't remember the next few seconds clearly because my brain shut off and my bodily instincts took over. I think I made a run for the door, forgetting momentarily that it was locked. But while I was struggling to break free in any way possible, Lincoln simply observed me, like he was watching a tv show or something. His grin just kept growing and growing; his finger lifting back up to his lips. Everything inside me froze, my blood ran ice cold at the sudden sensation of a hand grabbing the back of my shirt as he kept whispering to himself.

"Perfect…. You are so perfect."


	39. The Black Market, Again

Christian's P.O.V.-

Truthfully, I hadn't considered the consequences of bringing Paul- a herbivore- to the black market. Or at least not until we were there. His eyes grew gigantic in shock, disgust, and mild terror at the sight of the vendors. Thankfully, rhino meat isn't the most popular; carnivores prefer softer, juicer meat like beef, pork, venison, or…. I didn't let myself finish that specific thought. I should add that while rhino meat wasn't common, I did smell it at one booth here; I prayed Paul wouldn't see.

I say this, but in reality, all what I just said transpired subconsciously. My entire conscious mind was still laser-focused on finding Anastasia. And so was Paul's. "What was the asshole's name again?" Paul whispered over to me. "Eric Lincoln," I replied equally as hushed. Eric Lincoln, head of the Dollars- that's all we have to go on right now. That's when I noticed the looks we, or rather Paul, were getting. Individuals around us began to whisper and I could detect anger and a bit of anxiety in the air.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing here?" We simultaneously flinched at this brute of a tiger stomping over to us. "Do you know where we can find someone named Eric Lincoln?" Paul didn't hesitate to ask. Big mistake. Gasps erupted from everywhere and even the guy who approached us wavered a smidge. "What the hell? What are you doing lookin' for him? You trying to get yourself killed, rhino?" "Yeah, you're not even supposed to be here! How'd you even find this place?" The tiger's friend, a lynx, fired off while sticking his finger out at Paul. The tiger then proceeded to glare at me. "Friend of yours, wolf boy?"

"I asked you a question! Where's Eric Lincoln?!" Having enough of their nonsense, Paul yelled and effectively caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Everyone was quick to shush him. "Keep it down! You want to get us all killed?" The lynx growled nervously. But Paul, and I for a matter of fact, were having none of it. "Tell us where he is!" I demanded, backed up by a royally pissed off Paul. This earned us several threatening glares.

"Shut up! Listen here, rhino; you have no business sniffin' around down here. We ain't gonna tell you nothin', plant-eater. So, if you don't wanna get yourself eaten, I suggest you….." "I'm not going anywhere! Not until you tell me where he is!" Paul practically screamed back. This, of course, only fuelled the anger of the growing crowd. I shot the tiger a warning look when he growled lowly at Paul. "You stupid herbivore. You think that just cause you're strong, you can come and throw your weight around here? Look around you! This is our territory; this is where my kind eat "your" kind. You're no better than those meat slabs hanging on the hooks over there," he pointed to a horse's leg for emphasis.

That was Paul's breaking point. He punched the asshat square in the face, albeit with not that much force. What the tiger did next however, led to my breaking point. The tiger swore, spit out a little blood, then went in to bite Paul in the arm. My eyes grew huge as my chest contracted. "Don't touch him!" I didn't hesitate to leap in, trying to pry the beast away from my friend. The tiger managed to swing his hand back and scratch my cheek, which in turn set Paul off again. "Christian!" I could smell Paul's protective instincts rapidly kicking into gear once more.

Paul had just enough space to sock the bastard away from me, sending him flying some feet. That set off a chain reaction. A huge fight broke out, with some carnivores trying to get at me and Paul, and others protecting us. Eventually I grabbed Paul's wrist and yanked him back towards me. "Let's get outta here!" I shouted over the noise. We tried to worm our way out of the chaos, but it was pretty hard for us to leave undetected. We had to punch several faces and kick plenty of stomachs along the way. But right near the end of the strip, right where I collapsed last time, we managed to find ourselves. A snow leopard and bald eagle we hadn't seen before spotted us and were about to attack until…

Like some deus ex machina right out of a movie, someone grabbed both Paul and I by the back of the shirts. We looked over our shoulders to see the panda- that same goddamn panda- from before! Right when it looked like the fighting wouldn't end anytime soon, here he was, practically dragging us away from it. Within seconds we were tossed like ragdolls through an open door. The panda entered and locked the door behind him. It was dark for a second, but when the light turned on, I recognized the room to be the prison area I woke up in last time. Paul, meanwhile, was more than a little afraid.

"What are you doing here, boy? I said I'll take you on as my patient, but I didn't mean come back so soon," he addressed me like Paul wasn't in the room with us. "P-Panda!" I sputtered, just so relieved to see him again. Yes, I know we didn't end of the best of terms last time but if anyone could help us out around here, it was him. He tisked, shifting his head to the side. "My name isn't "panda". It's Hidoku Odo." "You know this guy?" Paul asked me, confused out of his mind by now.

"I told you: this place is dangerous even for carnivores like yourself. Why'd you come back, wolf?" "Hidoku, we need your help! We need to find Eric Lincoln and the Dollars!" I scrambled to my feet in a frantic fashion. Hidoku stared at me for a moment like he wasn't sure what to make of my request. Soon enough however, he merely sighed. "How do you know about them?" "Where are they?! I need to find them, now!" I just kept begging and begging. "Boy, you don't want to deal with them. Even I don't want to deal with them. That Eric- he's dangerous. We're talkin' S-ranked criminal in the bingo books. He's a wolf, sure; but he's the alpha of a serious gang. He's got a ton of men under him. You don't want to go anywhere near him, and you don't want him knowing who you are. Trust me, there's no way a single wolf and rhino can…."

"I don't care! They took her! They took Anastasia!" My hands clenched into fists. "Anastasia? You don't mean…..? I thought I told you to leave that lamb alone!" "Christian?" Paul blinked at me, scandalized now. "They kidnapped her where the festival's being held." "I'm sorry to hear that but just give up." "I can't! I imprinted on her!" I admitted without reservation. "No, you didn't." "Yes! Yes, I did! I know I did! And now he has her; he has my mate. Please, tell me where they are. I could care less if it's dangerous….

If he kills her, he kills me.

That's why I need your help, Hidoku, please…. please."

More contemplative staring, and Paul was staring at me too now with wide eyes. Hidoku broke the silence by letting out another sigh and rubbing his hand on the back of his head. "I sure hope you're wrong, because if Eric's got her, he's already eaten her. She's long gone- you won't find her. Well, alive at least." That…. that right there made me sick to my stomach. Still, I had to continue, to go on. She's alive; she has to be alive. There's simply no alternative for me.

I turned towards the door, ready to depart. "I have to… I'll do whatever it takes to save Anastasia." "Is this because you've attacked her previously? You feel there are things you did to her that you have to atone for?" "You did what?!" Paul gasped at me. "Tsh, I'm not surprised you don't know. The first time he met this "Anastasia", he tried to eat her. That's why he feels like a worthless wolf." Paul's mouth hung agape for a moment as he proceeded what Hidoku just told him. I couldn't look at Paul right then; it was too painful.

"N-no, you're wrong. Christian would never hurt anyone, especially an innocent, weak lamb like Anastasia," I shuttered upon hearing Paul defend my character. No, Paul! Don't! We have to stick together now; this is not the time for us to be fighting each other. Hidoku looked at Paul for the first time since he found us on the street.

"I take it you're here on account of you feel some regard for the girl." Paul squirmed a bit at this. "Erm, well yes. Ana and I have been friends for years. It would kill me if anything happened to her." "So, you've both fallen for the same girl? The lamb who's been abducted by the Dollars today?" Paul and I glanced at one another, then nodded. Hidoku gawked at us like we were crazy. "And you want to find her and most likely die at the hands of Lincoln's goons?" More assured nodding. Hidoku groaned exasperated. "You're both idiots. Complete morons." "Maybe, but I'm still going to save her." "Me too."

Hidoku rubbed the back of his head one last time before letting his arm fall at his side. Then he went to open the door, holding it for us. He gave us a look and I'm pretty sure I knew what that meant. His eyes softened ever so slightly.

"You're going to die, and so are you. But if you still insist we go on this suicide mission, we're going to at least do it my way."


	40. Beast-Mode

Christian's P.O.V.-

It was full-on night-time dark by the time we reached the Dollars' hideout. It was shockingly unconcealed in the middle of the city centre. "There's not much Lincoln's trying to hide from," Hidoku explained to Paul and I. While the situation was dire, from the moment we stepped foot onto the grounds, I could already smell traces of Anastasia's pink scent. She's here! My heart flared up in pure delight. She's really here; so Eric did take her after all… What's more, I'm certain that I couldn't detect her blood- her blood and skin smell different. Both still perfect but I could tell the distinction.

That's when it also hit me like a speeding train. There are bastards in here that have touched Anastasia- my Anastasia. My eyes instinctively sharpened while I bared my teeth in a growl. I swear, if even one of those creeps laid a hand on a single hair, I'll….. My rage train of thought broke at the sensation of Hidoku giving my back a hard smack. "Snap out of it, boy! You need to stay focused; save that aggression for Eric," he scolded. We were currently crutching down to hide behind the cement staircase leading up to the front, steel doors.

All of us ducked and peered over the ledge at the sound of the door suddenly opening. Out stepped a white tiger in a suit; he shut the door behind him. It sounded heavy. "Ok, here's what we're gonna do," Hidoku began to instruct us. That didn't last too long however, once I smelt Anastasia's scent on the man. Hidoku and Paul watched with alarmed expressions as my body took over. All fear for myself and them went out the window. I stood straight up and marched out from behind the steps to block this monster from going any further. The white tiger- hereby known as WT- blinked at me in genuine surprise.

"Wha-…..?" "Where is she? What did you do to her?" Despite the fact that I was seeing red right now, my voice was shocking low and calm. But WT wasn't fooled; he knew that I was brimming with fury. "Who? The lamb?" "Where is she?" I repeated in a very, very threatening tone. It took him a second for his lifeless eyes to grow in comprehension. "Oh, I see. You've come then to save her, have you? You? A wolf of all things? How very strange." Strange…. He's calling our relationship "strange". I'll kill him; I kill him. He had the audacity to chuckled softly. "I'm sorry to tell you but you're a little too late. If you want to meet her, I'll have to barf her up for you."

My hands curled into fists so tight, my palms were bleeding again. He's lying… I know he's lying to me. I can't smell her blood anywhere on him. And yet, my body was starting to convulse on its own accord. My jaw clenched so hard; I thought some teeth were going to break. All of this was only made worse by his continuing to taunt me. "I'll gladly let you see her again, if she hasn't already digested in my stomach, that is." My blood's beginning to boil; it feels like my whole body's on fire. You could actually hear my arms and back shift as my muscles expanded. I'm sure this was an agonizing process, but I didn't feel a thing. All I felt was heat; heat emanating from the most basic, unadulterated form of wrath. This is more powerful than any drugs could ever be.

This- this right here- was the protective instinct at its finest.

I truly felt all my humanity leave me as I lunged forward, grabbing hold of his throat. WT seemed surprised, not just by my sudden outburst but by physical strength. I clasped his throat, digging my bloody fingers deep into his skin. I was able to use my other hand and feet to knock him down back first onto the concrete. There I kept him pinned down, continuing to strangle him with only one hand. WT was soon desperately gasping for air.

"Tell me the truth! She's not dead; I can't smell any of her blood on you! Where is she?! Tell me where she is or so help me god, I will kill you!" My hand tightened its grip to prove my threat was real. "N-no! S-stop! I-I can't breathe…." He struggled to utter. "I know it! I know what her blood smells like! Her blood's not on you! That means she's still alive!" "P-please…." His gasping became lighter. I bared my teeth more as I lifted him up a little by the throat alone. I'll admit I was very quickly losing control of myself; that dreaded beast-mode I'd repressed all my life was rearing its ugly head. I could feel it rise up from the deep, dark depths where I kept it hidden all this time.

"I-I don't…. I don't know i-if she's s-still alive. I-I can't…" He was really starting to fight back now, and by that I mean grasp my arm with both his hands. It was no competition really; he was already dead if I wanted him dead. "Where is she?!" I gave him a hard shake. "I-I…!" "Tell me!" "E-Eric…. S-she's Eric's now," his voice was really, really quiet now. Oh, that was the wrong thing to say. Very, very wrong. "Shut up!" I wasn't quite aware of what I was even saying now- I was seconds away from giving into my beast-mode. I just kept shaking the man violently, as if I wanted to make him pay for what he said. My eyes glowed red as my jaw stayed clenched. I don't remember the next three seconds because I was completely overcome by my apex predator nature for the second time in my life. I had officially entered beast-mode. "Anastasia belongs to me!" My mouth opened wide as I prepared myself to give the fatal bite to his neck.

"Anastasia is my prey!"

The moment these words fell from my lips, it's like the world transitioned to black and white. Those were the only colours I could see momentarily. It was akin to being tossed into an ice-cold tub of water while being asleep; it honestly shocked my senses. And all I could do was stand there petrified with my mouth still open and resting mere inches away from WT's neck.

"Christian!"

W-what did I just say? I…. I called Anastasia my "prey"; not my "mate". My "prey". I said it while in beast-mode. I said she was my prey and…. a voice called me back; someone allowed my consciousness the chance to push away my inner demon. It took me a moment to realize that the voice was Hidoku's; he called out my name right after I declared that Anastasia is my prey, and… and I almost killed this man.

I peeked over my shoulder see Paul and Hidoku now standing at the bottom of the staircase. However, this was enough time for WT to slug me right in the left cheek. Seeing as I wasn't expecting this, I fell backwards, releasing his neck in the process. "Damn brat, I'll kill you!" He went to get another swing in. "Christian!" Paul rushed to my aid, tackling the guy down again and consequently separating us. Hidoku gave me a severe and solemn glare before going to help Paul with WT, who was putting up a considerable fight considering that I almost strangled him to death.

Paul didn't have to hit him more than three times before WT was out cold. They left his body on the steps, turning to face him after the fact. While Paul looked horrified, Hidoku kept glaring at me with disappointment. But it wasn't him I was afraid of offending just then….. My eyes lowered a bit before glancing over to Paul sadly. "Paul, I…"

"Didn't I tell you imprinting on her would be a mistake? I know you have no control over it, but it looks like you have a ways to go with controlling your beast-mode too. Don't forget, Christian Grey: Anastasia is your mate, not your dinner. I told you before that carnivores have loved herbivores so much that they've eaten them alive. If you don't want to end up like they did, you better learn to deal with that unquenchable thirst of yours."

I glanced downwards after Hidoku's lecture was over. He's right. I just have to accept that a part of me will always crave Anastasia's flesh; I am a wolf, after all. But…. But I love her. I have to be ok with loving her, while also desperately wanted to eat her. How sick and twisted is that? Maybe imprinting on her was the worst thing to ever happen to me…. Anastasia's face flashed speedily through my mind and my lips parted a sliver. Despite how unspeakable happy she makes me.

"I'm sorry; I know you're right, Hidoku. I'll never bare my claws at…." "Idiot! Why didn't you bite him?" Both me and Paul blinked at him shocked and dumbfounded. W-wait, I thought he just told me to control my beast-mode? So then why…..? He went on. "That's the only way wolves like you can beat these battle-hardened bastards. Paul and I can use our fists, but you're an apex predator. It's time you started fighting like one." "But you just said he should learn to stop his beast-mode," it was like Paul was reading my mind. "I said he needs to learn to control it- not to never use it. On the contrary, a carnivore's beast-mode can be useful, provided they use it for amiable purposes." "So….. you're saying I should fight like a wolf, then? A real wolf?"

Hidoku's eyes locked onto mine; they were stern and serious. "You are a real wolf, just like how he's a real rhino and I'm a real panda. You have a jaw- use it. And turn the focus of your beast-mode from wanting to devour your mate to protecting her. You may not eat her, but you can make sure no one will either. It's time you grow up and embrace who you are, boy. In other words, I want you to rip them open. Aim for the neck; bite them in the neck." And all I could do was stare at him in awe and understanding. His gaze sharpened in the edges.

"Yours is a love born from a hunting instinct. You imprinted on her- it already done. Knowing that, don't you want to change the outcome of your actions going forward? In that case, don't hide your beast-mode anymore from yourself or her; give it to her instead. Give it to Anastasia and let it protect her.

I'm sure she'll gladly take it."


	41. Bonus Chapter: Paul's POV

Paul's P.O.V. (for this chapter only)-

_"Is this because you've attacked her previously? You feel there are things you did to her that you have to atone for?" "The first time he met this "Anastasia", he tried to eat her. That's why he feels like a worthless wolf." "Yours is a love born from a hunting instinct." "Tell me the truth! She's not dead; I can't smell any of her blood on you! Where is she?! Tell me where she is or so help me god, I will kill you!"_

_"Anastasia is my prey!"_

No matter where I looked, my eyes kept reverting back to Christian. His prey; he called Ana his prey. Prey: something to be hunted and consumed. That's the definition of what he called her…. My eyes narrowed suspiciously onto him. I never even considered it before, the fact that Christian could kill and eat herbivores- never mind Ana. He just seemed so kind and quiet all of the time; I told him not to hold back his carnivore strength before. But it never occurred to me that he might use that power of his to harm a fellow living creature. Sure, he's a wolf but he's not a killer…. is he?

Now, for the first time in my life, I wasn't so certain.

I kept my stare on him through the corner of my eye; sneaky enough that he nor Hidoku noticed. The rough neck panda was busy giving us directions. "Ok, here's the plan. Paul and I will go in first and clear out the first floor. Christian will run in when the coast is clear and try to find a staircase. Eric's room is likely on the top floor so go there first; we'll keep the exit free out here. Once you got the girl, get the hell outta there; don't wait for us. It's a long shot, but we might be able to pull this off if we stick to my plan. Got it?" Christian nodded and I didn't say anything.

"Right! Come on, rhino; you're with me," Hidoku then stood up from where we were crutching in the shadows. Christian's and my eyes met one last time before I wordlessly followed Hidoku up the concrete stairs; neither of us were smiling. We made sure not to step on the tiger's unconscious and bleeding body along the way. I tactfully waited until we were far enough from earshot to speak to Hidoku. It would be our first time talking alone.

"Hey, panda; what is…. imprinting exactly?" I didn't bother meeting his puzzled gaze as I quietly asked this; I could sense his eyes on me. "Imprinting? It's an involuntary mechanism wolves have to identify their mates. All wolves have the ability, but not all of them imprint on someone." "They have no control who they imprint on?" He shook his head, finally tearing his stare off me. "No. Wolves only imprint once; it's part of the whole mating for life scenario. And once a wolf imprints, there's no reversing it." "Oh….." My gaze dropped disappointedly. But I wasn't done yet; I had one last question. "And…. is it possible for a wolf to imprint on a different species…..? An herbivore?"

Hidoku's feet came to a surprising halt, causing me also to pause and glance back at him curious. Boy, was his expression grave with zero nonsense to detect. "Now's not the time for your petty jealousy." "What?!" I responded with an upset and offended frown. But he didn't see fit to stop there; oh on. "You know what I mean. Don't let your anger at Christian ruin this mission, you hear me?" "Wha-…..? No, I'm not jealous; I'm worried for Ana. You heard him back there; he called Ana his "prey". Prey! Like she's something to be chased around and attacked. If that's how Christian sees her, he should have nothing to do with her. If he's imprinted on her, as he says, then shouldn't he love her enough to do that? If it'll save her life?" "He's risking his life to save her now," the panda retorted. "So am I," I shot back angrily.

He eyed me for a long minute before huffing and letting his head fall. "Look, kid; I agree. I think it would be better for the lamb to be with an herbivore like you. But that's not possible now. It's not your fault, or mine, or Christian's; it's just the way things happened. You need to deal with that, just like how he needs to deal with all the problems this is causing him too. You think this is easy for Christian? He's going to have to fight this innate desire built into his DNA every single day for the rest of his life. He's not the one who won here," Hidoku's eyes lowered right as he said this as I patiently waited for him to continue. "But he'd probably be inclined to disagree with me, each time he looks at her…. That's how strong the imprinting instinct is. Don't you get it? He didn't ask for any of this; none of us. Yet here we are, trying to save some god-forsaken lamb from the hands of a mob boss. None of this makes sense realistically." "Hidoku….." My eyes widen and he met them again, keeping his stare sharp as ever.

"But what does that have to do with you? Who cares if Christian imprinted on Anastasia?" "I-I care; it means I'll never be with her. Christian's not the only one in the picture here; I love her too. I've loved her for a lot longer than he's even known her. Doesn't that mean anything?" I could feel my resolve grow more and more desperate.

"Yes; yes, it does. You love her- that itself has nothing to do with Christian or me or anyone else. Your love for her is just as real as Christian imprinting on her. Of course that's worth something- your feelings will activate your protective instinct. You do want to protect Anastasia, don't you?" What a stupid question. "Of course I do!" "Good! Then stop whining and own up to your feelings. You and Anastasia may not have a future together, but what you feel for her now is still real- it still counts. And I'm not about to sit back and watch as you let go what you want to hold onto the most. Fight for her instead; maybe even die for her. Your efforts won't be wasted, just as your love isn't wasted. Forget about Christian, forget about everything else. We'll only manage to do this if you let your protective instinct take over. You understand?" "H-Hidoku." And I swear, his eyes softened around the edges a little.

"And one more thing. Don't let fear of the future taint all those good memories you have with her. The time between then and now belongs to you; you're allowed to cherish it. Fight for her with that in mind. After all….

You love her. That's enough, isn't it?"

I could nothing but stare at him wide-eyed, my mouth agape. _"You love her. That's enough, isn't it?"_ I do… The side of Ana's smiling face zoomed through my mind. I really do love her. I… The memory of my meeting Ana appeared next. I don't know how to stop loving her. Ana bandaging my arm after I scraped it during a game in middle school. Somehow without my ever noticing it, it felt so natural to love her. Ana laughing with me at the movies. She's so incredibly easy to love…. Ana and I making cupcakes together. She's the reason I'm strong; she gives my strength meaning. Ana smiling at me; every single time I saw her smile. Without ever trying, she's brought me so much happiness since I might her. The last time Ana held my hand in hers. Thinking back, I wouldn't change a thing- not a single moment with her. Not one single second of it.

The last memory was of Ana and I swimming in a local pool. It was empty since we went rather late, but we didn't mind. I treasure that specific memory more than the others I think because of how natural and organic it all seemed. I remember I was swimming below her near the bottom of the pool, and she was right above me. As if to be prompted by some cue, we both opened our eyes at the same time. The first thing we saw was each other; we saw each other and smiled. Ana….. She looked so beautiful, with the water spreading her hair out all around her, just like an angel. Her blue eyes pierced mine. Ana…. Ana, Ana! Anastasia.

"_Let me protect you; don't try and hold me back for my sake. And in return, I will make you happy, I promise."_

That's right. I promised I'd protect her; I'd keep her safe and in exchange, she'd let me make her happy. I just thought that… that happiness would come from me. But now I don't really care where that comes from, just so long as she is happy. Happy and safe. That's all I really want now. That's all I'll ever want because…. because…..

"I love can't stop loving you."

"Hmmmmm?" Hidoku perked up at this, but I just glanced back at him. "Ok." "Ok, what?" "I'm not going to fight for Christian's sake, or even my own. You see, I made a promise to Ana once: I'm going to protect her at all costs. I'm going to protect her and make sure she's happy going forward. Whether I have to protect her from Christian is up to him, but I'll do what I have to. You're right; I love her. I can't stop myself… I can't wanting her, so I've made up my mind. I'm going to save her, and I'm going to wear her colours while doing it."

Hidoku then observed as I pulled out Ana's colours from my pocket; I never left home without it since that game against the Chargers. I tied it onto my forearm and grinned back at the panda. We nodded our heads in unison. "Let's go." "Heh, it was nice knowing you, kid." "Likewise," I said before we pulled open the front steel doors.

So maybe my story won't get a happy ending after all. But I could give a damn about that at the moment. So long as she gets a happily ever after, that's all I care about. It may be useless to say now but that doesn't make it any less true:

I can't stop loving you, Anastasia Steele.


	42. A Bath From Hell

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"Alright, time to get you cleaned up." Lincoln took a worrying step towards me. It did help however that his hands were still buried in his pant pockets. "Don't worry, my darling; I'm not going to do anything to you yet. I just like my meat to be as clean as possible. So would you please relax? I hold you in high regard, princess. A find like you is rare- rare, indeed." Another step my way. My foot slid back so far that it was pressing up against the wall just like the rest of me. His eyes glowed with a sickening lust I hoped I'd never see. "Now then," his hand rose up in front of him.

"Take off your clothes."

"H-huh?!" "You don't expect me to eat your clothes, now do you? Besides, I've got a nice, hot bath waiting for you; it's even got rose petals. Just think of it as a natural step in the manufacturing process." "W-what?!" My palms pressed as hard as they could into the wood of the wall. "It's all to make sure your meat is perfect- that's all. I think you'll rather enjoy it. The water's pink!" He's nuts; he's totally insane. That's when his long tongue ran repulsively over his jagged teeth. "I could wash you, if you like."

Despite knowing it was futile, I tried with all my might to break down the door. No! No, I don't want the first man to see me naked, to touch my body to be this villain. I refuse! I wasn't born to be his fetish and dinner; I was meant for more than this! Someone help me! Anyone! He chuckled sinisterly as I began banging on the door with both my fists; the tears flying off my face.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to get you naked by force. Fine by me; this'll be fun!" "Help! Someone, please! Help me! Help me!" My fists wouldn't stop banging. Or at least they didn't until I felt myself being pulled by the back of the shirt again. Except unlike last time where he let me go, Lincoln yanked me toward him with such force that I felt myself collide into him. Before I had time to blind, two strong arms wrapped around me in what was a weird, twisted embrace. This monster held me close to his chest, keeping me firm in place.

"Incredible. You take my breath away…. You're a mere baby compared to my strength. I can make you do whatever I want and go wherever I want you to go. You're a baby, and yet I stand in awe. Eating you is going to feel so good…. so satisfying. These vicious fangs of mine are going to destroy you from the inside out. I can't wait….. It's remarkable; to think that a lowlife like me could ever touch something like you, taste you…." His mouth then made this slurping sound, almost like he was drooling uncontrollably or something. His hands tightened their grip on me. It was starting to hurt; how hard he was clinging to me. "The pieces of you will become pieces of me- we'll be one. I will get all of you, and all your perfection. And I want to look at me while I rip your inners out one at a time. Eyes like yours…. They mean something when they look at you; something deep, something good."

I began screaming and crying once more when he sniffed my hair hungrily. "No! Don't! Let me go! Don't touch me!" "God, you smell delicious." "Let go! Let go of me!" "Take off your clothes and I will. But all of them; I want to see everything I'm getting." "I will! I'll do it! Just let me go!" And with that, I fall right to the ground. After a couple of throaty coughs, I glanced up at Lincoln to find him waiting patiently. Realizing that he was right and that my clothes were coming off one way or another, I very reluctantly got to my feet. I physically wasn't able to look him in the eye as my shaky hands peeled off my shirt, then my shirt. It was the most humiliating thing I think I've ever been subjected to. Being made to strip in front of the wolf who was going to eat me.

But that wasn't good enough for him- oh no. "Everything, honey. You're not to stop," he cooed softly. Fuck him, I inwardly shot him a glare. I had to shut my eyes. With a deep, deep breath, I reached back to unbutton my bra. It fell to the floor, followed by my panties. There I was, stark naked in a room with a man- the first man in my entire life- to see my whole body. I think he must have liked what he saw, considering how he just stood there staring for a minute. At least I think that's what he did; I still had my eyes closed.

I didn't have time to open my eyes, however. My body was suddenly and unexpectedly lifted off the ground by two familiar, strong arms. My eyes now shot open to see Lincoln holding my naked ass princess-style. He was leering down at me with the vilest of expressions. "P-put me down!" I demanded, only to be utterly ignored. He carried me over to a curtain, which he went behind to reveal a footed bathtub. Carefully, he set me down into the pink, sweet-smelling water. He was right; it was hot- but not too hot- and full of red rose petals. I didn't hesitate to try and cover myself with as many of them as possible. But Lincoln didn't seem to mind. He merely gave me one last look before disappearing behind the curtain again. I knew he was still in the room because I didn't hear any doors open or shut. He was just letting me clean myself in private, I guess….

While there, submerged in the tub, so, so many thoughts went through my head. Memories from my childhood, what being eaten alive might feel like, why I was born a lamb, the many people I'll never see again, and the fact that I was going to die before finishing high school. There's so much of my life I have yet to live; so many things I'll never get to experience. Maybe it would be different if I was born something other than a lamb. Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I'm only in this position because I'm a lamb- a stupid, weak, defenceless lamb. I never had a chance when you consider everything. I've almost been eaten once before on campus, and now I'm going to be eaten for sure. That's all I am: prey. I'm prey for a predator to sniff out and eat. It'll never be any different; nature didn't intend it to be any different. I was born to be eaten by someone who is stronger. That's the way of nature. My head lowered down into the water to the point where I was nearly submerged. That….

and no one is coming for me. No one even knows where I am. What hope do I have of being saved?


	43. Heart and Armour

Christian's P.O.V.-

I waited for Hidoku to give me the signal. That look Paul gave me just now…. The memory of his eyes piercing into mine appeared inside me. He knows…. My own eyes lowered thoughtfully. He knows I hunger for Anastasia….

"Now!" I suddenly heard Hidoku shrill from inside. Without skipping a beat, I leapt to my feet, charging up the stairs and inside. Bodies were scattered around with Paul and Hidoku still fist-fighting several Dollars. "Go, now!" Hidoku commanded me. I made a dash for the staircase, only catching sight of Paul's forearm along the way. He had a pink cloth wrapped around it; I took one whiff and knew it was hers. Paul seemed to notice that I noticed and punched the guy he was currently fighting out of the way so to look at me. Our eyes met; his soulful and serious. He was in full-on protective mode now.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go get her!" "P-Paul," I gasped shocked. But his stared merely narrowed onto mine. "But one thing, Christian. Don't think just cause you've imprinted on Ana that I'm just going to give her to you. Go on and save her, but if you want her, you'll have to take her from- if you can." Paul…. My eyes lowered slightly. I guess I can rely on him, after all. He'll do whatever it takes to save her as well. And I gave one firm nod before locking stares again. "In that case, I will take Anastasia from you." Paul's eyes also softened as he nodded ever so gently, as if he understood. Then, with one last glance at each other, I bolted for the staircase.

Gotta go; must move faster! I told my body repeatedly. Where is she? Where is she, goddamn it! How am I going to find her- and fast- in this hellhole? Ok….. My feet reluctantly came to a halt halfway on the staircase now. Ok, calm down; just calm down. Remember what you did during the black out at the festival. Relax, find her scent. Find it….

This place honestly smelt disgusting. Blood, gun powder, other bodily fluids- it was revolting. Yet even through all that filth, my nose was able to detect fragments of her scent. Tiny splotches of pink were all around me; she was definitely brought up these stairs. Just smelling her gorgeous scent both immediately calmed me and kicked my protective instinct back into overdrive. I closed my eyes for a moment, savouring the sensation of her- my beautiful mate. Anastasia….. Anastasia…. You're still alive, aren't you? Of course you are.

You are alive, and I want to see you.

With my muscles tense and body feeling so hot once more, my lips parted to expose my clenched jaw again. And I'll kill that Eric Lincoln; I'll destroy anyone who tries to harm her. The way my body instinctively reacts to your smell- it's all because I sense you, Anastasia. I have but one simple, selfish desire that makes me stronger than any of the damn bastards here. Stronger than brute strength, even stronger than basic instinct….

I want to see you, life mate.

That's about the time I reached the top floor; her pink scent was strongest up here. Follow it; follow it and find her. Once I do, I'll hold her so tight in my arms; I'll never let her out of my sight again. I'll just be so thankful to see her safe, hear the sound of her voice….. hold her hand in mine. She's already holding my heart in her other hand- she is my heart. She's already my heart,

so I'll be her armour.


	44. You Came For Me

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

_I can't stop loving you. _

That voice just now…. My eyes slowly opened as I followed on top of the bath water. My arms were spread out at my sides with rose petals all over them, and my hair flowing everywhere in the water. That voice…. Was it Paul's? Maybe…. or could it be…. Christian's? It sounded familiar but just indistinguishable enough for me not to recognize it. I guess it doesn't matter though, my hands played with a few petals. Paul…. My eyes lowered really tenderly. I love you, Paul; you must know that. I can't stop loving you either. You're my best friend- I will always love you as my dear, precious friend. I suppose it could have been voice I just heard in my head. The only other one who could have said it is….

My lips parted a sliver. Christian….. Several images of him flowed through me like water; I had to shut my eyes and take in a deep, stabling breath. Christian…. Christian! When I think of him, all I feel is pain. I've never liked anyone like I liked him before, and yet he'll never know. I'm going to die with him never knowing how much I….. My eyes winced at the horrific reality. Well, I guess I should feel fortunate. I lived long enough to feel that way at least once, even if he'll never know. And I'll want him 'til my last breath here on earth. Christian…. I remembered what it was like holding his hand back in the station. Christian….

Do you know how much happiness you've brought me in the short time we've known each other?

No, I guess you wouldn't; I never got a chance to tell you. And I never will. All I can do now is adore you from this solitary room. Maybe if I close my eyes, I can drift away…. to a place where I can see you one last time. If I'm lucky I'll fall asleep and dream of you… In dreams you're mine, all of the time…. I want to see you…. If I had one last wish, it would be to see you, Christian. See you and tell you how much you mean to me. Say the things I'll never actually get to say to you.

That's when I was suddenly plucked out of the water like a doll. My eyes shot open to see Lincoln standing beside the tub, holding me back in both his arms princess-style. Any rose petals still on me when he picked me up fell off my body onto the floor. His disgusting leer shown down upon me like an unholy, black sun. "Have a nice bath?" I couldn't speak, so horrified and disgusted as he proceeded to carry me back into the main room. He set me down on my feet and began to dry me with a pink, silk towel. Despite being soft fabric, it felt coarse against my skin. I winced as he rubbed me down, and I do mean everywhere.

When that was done, he dropped the towel off to the side and inspected me over, like I was a piece of artwork… or very delicious-looking cut of meat. His eyes moved up and down repeatedly; there was no part of me he hadn't seen. Eventually a sickening, twisted grin grew across his face and he took a menacing step towards me. "My sweet, perfect, little girl…" His hand reached out for me. No! I winced my eyes shut as I practically fell backwards. No, I don't want this! I don't want the last man to touch me to be him! No! Someone, please! Help me! I'm begging you! Help me!

"I've waited a long time for someone like you." "No! Don't touch me!" But I think his hunger had set in too much by this point; Lincoln acted as if he couldn't hear me. "I want you; I want you, lamb…" No! No, anything but this! Someone please, save me! Someone!

"Christian!"

My mouth shouted on its own accord. This surprisingly made Lincoln pause for a minute- only a minute, mind you. He blinked down at me puzzled. "Christian? Is that the wolf who imprinted on you?" No, my eyes shot open. Don't say his name; his name's too pure to fall from the lips of you! Hey, wait a minute. That's right; if I'm going to die anyway, I might as well die a lamb he'd be proud of. Who cares if I'm weaker than paper? That wasn't my choice. None of this was my choice. But now… I finally see an avenue for me.

"Yes, think of him; think of this Christian. Get the blood flowing, let it creep everywhere in you; it'll make your meat taste all the better," Lincoln licked his lips savoury. Oh, screw you! For the first time, I shot him a vicious glare. I'm gonna die anyway; might as well go down fighting. My hands balled into fists.

"Didn't you hear me, old man?! I said don't touch me! I'm a kidnapped woman, but that doesn't make me your property!" "W-wha-….." His eyes started to grow in dumbfoundness, and I saw fit to continue. "Blood pumping will make my meat taste better? Well in that case, I'm pretty damn calm right now! And here you thought I was going to make the best meal of your life- ha! I'm going to do everything in my power to deny you the satisfaction; I'll even kill myself if I have to. You're not worth it. You may be physically stronger than me, but you're sure a hell a lot weaker in my eyes! Look at you, unable to control your hunger- pathetic. News flash- I've almost been eaten before and he had the strength to let me go. That's something you'll never have, you hedonistic, murdering monster!"

I had to take a breath, I had been yelling so hard. Lincoln merely gawked at me with wide, stunned eyes. And I had just enough time to get a self-satisfied smirk in before I realized how bad my plan had backfired. I watched in horror as the lust in his eyes heightened; I think my yelling actually aroused him. Or maybe just the sound of my voice in general. All previous resolve went flying out the window once he swiftly tackled me to the ground. His heart was beating so hard, I could hear it through his shirt. He pinned me down using both hands as he proceeded to drool on me. His breathing was so heavy.

"I wish I could keep you forever. Or clone you and eat you every night…." He hissed hungrily. This damn bastard! I winced under his weight on me. He didn't to a thing I just said! "It appears that I was too soft on you, angel. Looks like you need to be punished." Gross! Gross! I gasped, trying not to vomit all over myself. His head bent down to run his nose along the side my neck. Everything inside me shook as his tongue came out of his mouth to run along my skin. His eyes turned completely black as I knew he was going into beast-mode. His hunger was consuming his mind.

"I'll punish you. I'm not going to accept hard meat, so I'll tenderize you instead. I'm going to bite you; shred your skin off until you're begging me to stop." My body was going back into defence mode again as I shook with everything I had. My eyes winced shut so hard, they hurt. "N-no! Stop! Stop it!" "I won't! I want you! I want to devour you inch by inch! I want your blood all over me!" "No! No, don't! Let me go! Don't!" My voice didn't sound like my own in those few seconds. I'd never been more desperate in my life. With his eyes now entirely crimson, his jaw opened wide as he began to lower his head down to my right bare shoulder. It hit me like a speeding truck. These are my last few seconds alive. I'm going to die; he's really going to kill me now. I'm about to die, to lose consciousness forever. One last tear rolled down my cheek. I'm going to die with no one knowing where I am or what's happened to me.

And I'm going to die alone.

Then, like divine intervention, the locked door was busted off its hinges. I didn't see cause my eyes were still shut, but something stopped Lincoln. I heard him cry out in pain as he fell off to the side, releasing me in the process. Shards of wood from the door flew everywhere; I used my arm to cover my face before looking. My eyes then slowly, hesitantly reopened. A figure was standing there; standing there and staring down at me. It took a second for my vision to clear but when it did, my jaw dropped open in more shock and elation I'd ever felt in my life.

Christian!


	45. Christian Vs Lincoln

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

All I could do was gawk in disbelief. He's here…. he actually came for me.

Christian's eyes immediately locked onto mine. Though I was stark naked right laying right in front of him, he didn't peak down at my body; not once. Instead he straightened up slowly, shut his eyes, and gave the most relieved, tender sigh I've ever seen. It was such a strong, emotional sigh that I heard it from where I was.

His eyes reopened with the upmost gentleness and stared back down upon me. They were low and very sincere, like he was admiring a masterpiece in a famous museum. His stare didn't dare stray from me once- not once. Even when he began to remove his shirt, his eyes returned to me as quickly as they could, constantly absorbing me like two sponges.

I guess neither of us were paying the appropriate amount of attention to Lincoln; not as much as we should have been. I was the first to notice his hand reach out to grab Christian from behind. "Christian!" Was all I had time to shout before his shirt was flung at me. "Sorry if it's bloody! Please wear my uniform!" He hollered out to me as he struggled to keep Lincoln from nabbing his wrists. My wolf was able to get a swift kick in, sending Lincoln stumbling back a few steps. Christian! I couldn't help but watch in utter awe as this wolf so desperately protected me. Of course, seeing Lincoln bare his fangs and claws at Christian sent my protective instincts into overdrive. I was suddenly filled with the innate desire to fling myself in between the two just so Lincoln wouldn't- or couldn't- hurt Christian. But instead of doing that straight away, I felt I had to ask first….

"Christian, why are you here?! Are you hurt?!" "Uh? There are so many reasons, I can't begin to say them!" "Get away from her. Don't touch her; she's mine!" Lincoln wiped the corner of his mouth as he viciously bared his teeth at Christian. Lincoln was going into protective mode too, but this was totally different from Christian's protective instinct. My abductor was still in beast mode; any feelings of protection he had for me were akin to protecting one's food or resources. It wasn't "me" he wanted to keep from Christian; it was my meat Lincoln craved so badly. What's worse: I'm pretty sure Christian knew this. He didn't hesitate to growl back at Lincoln, securely stationing himself in between me and him. They had their claws pointed at one another. For an animal like me, it was terrifying to witness; but I was no longer concerned for my welfare. Everything was directed at Christian now.

Christian's P.O.V.-

"Get away from her. Don't touch her; she's mine!"

_Mine._ Wrong thing to say. I think I already knew coming up the stairs but now I'm sure. He's gonna die; I'm going to kill Eric Lincoln- the bastard who dared to steal, even look at my mate. We collided, our hands grabbing each other's trying to stop the other's, all while Eric tried to snap at me. I managed to dodge his first attempt but, in the process, gave him the opportunity to slug me in the gut. Before I knew it, I'd flown back a few feet but didn't hesitate to retaliate the favour.

Punching him back turned out to be a bad move. Eric caught my arm and immediately bit down into it. Anastasia screamed but honestly, I didn't feel it. I just wanted to keep his attention off her; I never wanted him to look at her again. Look at her with that lust in his beast-mode eyes. While he continued to chew down on my arm, I struggled to break free from his powerful jaw. Of course, everything instantly changed once my mate got involved again.

My heartbeat could be heard throbbing in my ears as I sensed her scramble closer to us. "No! Let him go!" She pleaded with Eric. Anastasia! My eyes opened so wide… Out! She's got to get the hell outta here. Forget about me, Anastasia; forget about me and run for it! I'll keep the way clear for you; just leave! Now, I thought all this in my mind, not speaking out right away. That happened the moment she begged Lincoln again. "Please stop! You're hurting him!" Tears ran down the sides of her cheeks as she desperately clasped her hands over her heart.

"Anastasia! Run away! Go while there's still time! Hurry!" It was my turn to do the begging. It was like she didn't hear me, however. She simply pleading and crying at Eric to let me go. I could detect the neon, glowing pinkness in her scent- her protective instinct was kicking in for me. All my primal senses went crazy when she went to try and force his mouth off me. Somehow, my knee was able to rise up, effectively knocking his jaw off my arm. And the single moment I was free, my body practically flung itself between them again. I stood firm in front of her, acting as her own personal shield; I wasn't lying when I said I don't want him even looking at her. Never again.

Eric's eyes were entirely red, and his breathing was heavily yet silent. I'd never seen such a sinister, hateful look in someone's eyes before. "You've just made the biggest mistake of your life," he growled threateningly. I didn't say anything, still standing protectively in front of Anastasia. I knew he was the one who was going to die, but I had to be careful about the situation. It wasn't me Eric was really after; it was my mate. I had to be careful… I took a step towards him. I had to fight like he does; like a real wolf. _"You have a jaw- use it. And turn the focus of your beast-mode from wanting to devour your mate to protecting her. You may not eat her, but you can make sure no one will either."_ The panda was right. He's fighting while in beast-mode; I might not have the chance to defeat him if I don't do the same. Besides….. _"Knowing that, don't you want to change the outcome of your actions going forward? In that case, don't hide your beast-mode anymore from yourself or her; give it to her instead. Give it to Anastasia and let it protect her."_ Anastasia, I think I know why I was born a wolf now. I finally understand….

"No one stands between me and what's mine!" Eric shouted before charging at me once more. I ran towards him with the same force and ferocity. Anastasia…. my darling Anastasia. All I could see was her face in my head; all I could smell was her neon pink scent. I understand, sweetheart… I know why I'm like this now. My imprinting on you was no accident- it was not a mistake. You are weak; one of the weakest animals in all existence. And there's nothing wrong with that. You have just as much power over that as I do about being an apex predator. But there's something else I've learned, life mate. Something important.

It makes me not afraid anymore. The only time I'm afraid now is when I think of you in harm's way. Eric growled at me so hard. "She's mine! She's my prey!" He roared. That did it; that was enough to set it off. My eyes were glowing crimson now too I'd imagine as I did something I never thought I'd let myself do. For the first time in my life, while only thinking of Anastasia, I wilfully let myself go into beast-mode. The sensation of boiling liquid pouring through my veins made my body contort, my muscles contract. But this was good as it allowed me to rush at Eric in a predatory manner.

Everything I am, Anastasia; it's all for you. My claws are yours; my fangs belong to you exclusively. I punched Eric as he attempted to bite me again. I was born a wolf for you; I was made by nature to protect you. I will become your beast; I will give my beast-mode to you. Now, one good thing about being a bit smaller than Eric- he was older than me- was the fact that I could leap onto him; I was light enough to stay on his top half without knocking him over. I took several deep breathes to mentally prepare myself. Then, for the briefest of seconds I shut my eyes. She was there; of course she was there. Anastasia…. _"Christian." _

All it takes is one look at you, and I'm ready for war.

"Anastasia, shut your eyes!" I cried before I spread my jaw wide. It all happened so quickly, I barely remember any of it. But I remember the bitter taste of blood and the sensation of my fangs sinking into this meaty texture. Eric gave this unearthly moan, his mouth widening. But I didn't stop; my teeth just kept drilling deeper and deeper into his neck. He was still breathing when I finally tore myself off in a violent fashion. I gasped, letting all the disgusting blood fall out of my mouth. My face was covered in the stuff by now.

It took me a few seconds to look back to Anastasia; she still had her hands over her eyes. Oh good- my first thought was how thankful I was she didn't see that. While I gave my beast-mode to her, I didn't want her to see it. Her eyes are too clean, too pure to witness something this gruesome. "Anastasia…." I gasped breathlessly; my mouth still had a thick coding of blood all inside it. Her hands slowly lowered down to her eyes, revealing her terrified eyes. Mine instantly lowered onto hers. Obviously, she's going to be scared; I didn't want to scare her. That's the last thing I ever want to do….

"Anastasia, you're safe now," I tried to sound a bit less whizzy this time. "C-Christian?" Her hands were trembling at the sight. I got up, trying to block her view as much as possible; not that I think that did much. She merely stared up at me with the largest of eyes. "You're safe; I promise you, you're safe now," my hand reached out for hers. She blinked from it back to me; I continued to ogle her like the angel she was. Even through all this, I can still see her halo. It's never shown brighter I think….

"Christian…." Her voice was smaller this time. Don't be afraid, Anastasia; I'm your beast. I've always been your carnivore. I want you to use me, to tame this feral wolf who so desperately needs you. I want you…..

You can't fathom how high my heart leapt when she suddenly shot both her arms out for me. "Christian….. oh Christian!" Tears flew off the sides of her face. Her hand grasped mine. Her touching me was enough to send my protective instincts back into high gear. Without conscious realization, I pulled her as quick as I could by her hand straight into me. I pulled her into me, wrapping both arms tightly around her. I held her so hard, she wasn't able to wrap her arms around me. Her hands instead rested on my chest, along with her cheek. Both my eyes instinctively closed as I pressed her up against me. Oh, it was worth it; all of it, absolutely worth it. Just to have her here in my embrace, safe and sound…. I'd do it a thousand times over, just for this single, solitary moment. This…. this wasn't mere survival for me. I'm not content with simply surviving anymore. Moments like this, where she's here with me…. this wasn't only survival for me.

This was living.


	46. Following The Rescue

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

Christian tugged me into his warm embrace; his shallow breath drifted onto my back. I could practically feel his eyes close. "Thank goodness…." He sighed, he genuinely sighed after a moment. His grip tightened around me; I didn't know it was possible to be so close to another animal. "I mean it…" After uttering this, his body began to quake. My eyes widened as he suddenly collapsed onto me; his eyes were still shut. He looked exhausted.

Oh my god, I realized as I squirmed my way out from under the apex predator. Blood, scraps, and considerable wounds covered him all over; he was bleeding profusely from some injuries. I wasn't sure if he was the only one here or not, but for the time I assumed that he was. I have to get him outta here, my feet sprang up as my protective instincts kicked into gear. I wasn't strong enough to physically carry him, but I could let him lean on me the whole way. As gently as I could, I shook him until he came to. His eyes opened a sliver and he looked at me.

It took a few minutes to get Christian to his feet; I let him use me as a crutch the entire time. But while he did lean on me a little, what it seemed he really wanted to do was to hold my hand. Fine by me! Hand in hand we very, very slowly made our way out of that god forsaken room and down the hall. I had to let Christian guide me since I had no clue where we were going from here.

Neither of us dared to say a word. The wolf led me to a back and thankfully empty staircase. Christian went down first, just in case there were anymore gang members hiding about. But no one else- enemy or ally- appeared and we finally made it outside. "Can you walk? How is it easier for you to walk?" I heard myself ask the moment we were out, and the door was closed behind us. Christian didn't reply, instead giving my hand a squeeze and continue to limp forward.

The wolf could only go so far as a bench off Lincoln's property. I helped Christian lay down into a comfortable position and sat beside him. Christian… I scanned his wounds over again and again. They'd need to be treated and soon; the last thing I want is for him to get an infection. We stayed there…. for a long time. I can't be sure, but I think Christian kept drifting in and out of consciousness. It was at the one-hour mark that my head worriedly yanked back to him as he started to groan; he was obviously in a lot of pain. He groaned and gasped several times, but I wasn't sure if he was asleep or not. I continued to watch him afraid, only waking him up when his groaning became more severe.

"Christian? Christian!" I yelled in a whisper, trying to shake his shoulder as mildly as I could. His eyes shot open, then automatically lowered. His head lifted my way, but he didn't say anything. I let out an audible sigh, visibly relaxing. "Thank goodness. Are you alright, Christian?" My tone was more than a little peppered with worry. Seeing my expression, he tried to grin for me- in vain, I'm afraid. "I-I'm…. ok…." His lips managed to slip out. Needless to say, I wasn't convinced. Instead I elected to stare at him, my hands balling into fists on my lap. All my fault… This is all my fault. He came to save me; after all, if he hadn't come when he did, he wouldn't be in such a bad condition right now. He didn't have to come for me…. I never want any harm to come to him. Not at all.

"I'm sorry….. I'm so sorry, Christian," again, I heard my voice crack as a tear rolled down my cheek. Christian instantly lifted his upper half up in alarm but I couldn't stop…. I was just too…. "You did this for me…. you're in this shape because of me…." Even more tears fell down my face. "Anastasia, it's alright," he sounded much calmer and quieter than me just now. No, no it's not alright. It's not! My eyes winced shut in a frenzy; both my hands lifted up. "You got hurt because of me! That's the last thing I'd ever want! I….!"

"Anastasia," my savour interrupted me by grabbing my hand again. I paused to glance back at him perplexed. But he merely smiled back at him, naturally this time. His fingers wrapped around the sides of my hand, giving it a loving squeeze. The sincerity and adoration in the look he gave me just now. "You have nothing to apologize for; you did nothing wrong. I just…. I just….." Before he could finish his sentence, his stomach let out a loud growl. Still clasping onto my hand, his head fell defeatedly back onto the bench. "I just need something to eat."

Food! Yes, we could do that, and we did. While Christian barely managed to stay fully conscious, I found an open restaurant for us. One loin we passed asked Christian why he didn't take me to the black market in a mocking tone. I knew it was a joke since there's no such thing as the black market. Christian didn't say anything, though he did shoot the carnivore a warning glare. We just continued on while he went away laughing with his friends.

The restaurant was more of a fast food place. After setting the wounded wolf down at an outdoor booth, I went to order him some food: a tofu burger with two eggs and lots of water to wash it down. Despite him being the one who's gravely injured and just took on a mob boss, the first thing Christian did when I presented the food was to divide it in half and give me the bigger half. I could only gawk at him in pure astonishment, but he motioned for me to eat. It was only after I took my first bite that he started eating his.

We ate in relative silence; I suppose we were both incredibly tired. But while no verbal conversation was occurring, a lot was still being said. I know because we kept peering up to check on each other every minute or so. I'd peak up to find Christian already looking at me, or he would glance to see me staring back. At some point while wordlessly observing him I smiled- I smiled and he organically mirrored my expression.

I don't need to tell you that we got a lot of weird side glances and comments from onlookers. One had the gull to say that the burger was an appetizer while I was the main course; I hoped Christian hadn't heard. Even the server kept an eye on us, or rather me, once he realized I was with a wolf. Ok, I get it: a wolf and lamb being seen out in public together is stranger. But did everyone have to be so obvious about it? Did they not notice us smiling at one another with googly eyes? No? Well what they don't know is that this wolf just risked his life to save mine; he killed another wolf for me. And now he's making sure I have enough to eat before he even considers feeding himself. Sitting here, eating cheap tofu burgers with him like this…. Despite everything that's happened today, this is a memory I'll treasure for the rest of my life. This moment right here, right now.

"Excuse me?" Or, so I thought. We both flinched at the intrusion of someone coming over to our table. He had this arrogant air about him, for a zebra. His hands were on his hips. "Might I ask what you think you are doing?" He asked in the smuggest adult tone you can imagine. "Uh, eating?" I cocked my head to the side confused. The zebra shook his head in disapproval. "You're high school students, aren't you? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Christian and I looked at each other. I didn't have my phone with me and by the looks of it, he didn't either. Seeing our confounded reactions, the annoying adult rolled his eyes and gave a sigh.

"It's almost midnight. The last train left the station ten minutes again," he enlightened us. "It did?!" I gasped. Oh no…. "Well, what do you have to say for yourselves, hmmmm? Where do you expect to sleep tonight? I'm not even going to mention this sick, interspecies date you're on right now." I wanted to rebuff that this wasn't a date and even if it was, that was none of his business, but all angry words turned to cotton in my throat. I looked back to Christian instead, who was staring back at me with a worried face.

"Anastasia…" My wolf began but I stopped him, attempting to smile to lighten the mood. "Er, how much….. money do we have?" I inquired shyly. It didn't help that zebra tyrant was standing over us here. Christian checked his pockets, only to look back at me flushed. "Fifty bucks….." He replied sheepishly. The zebra gasped in horror and disgust. "Don't tell me you're planning to go to a motel? No! You're minors, and she's a lamb! I won't have you defiling someone as innocent as her in some sleezy sex motel!" He was now full on yelling at Christian.

Welp! Looks like that's our cue to go. As if to be reading my mind, Christian had to take one look at me to formulate an escape plan. Meanwhile a minor crowd had started to gather around us. They all looked very unimpressed with Christian and more than willing to help me out. "Who are you? Who are your parents? Someone get the cops! These minors are trying to sneak out tonight!" The zebra didn't help matters by shouting even louder. "Oh, that poor lamb," I heard one lady crone. "Can you imagine?" Another guy added. "I'm so sick of carnivores taking advantage of young, sweet herbivores. Whatcha gonna do if she doesn't put out?! Rip her throat across?!" Someone hollered to my wolf.

Time to go! We stood up like a shot at the same time. Then, holding hands yet again, we made a dash out of there, surprising many spectators. Some yelled at us, and the a few even tried catching us, but we were too fast. Somehow- don't ask me how but somehow- we escaped the hoards. Once in the quiet and clear again, we paused to take some deep breaths and calm ourselves down. Only then did I turn back to Christian.

"But yeah, let's find a hotel for the night."


	47. Awkward Situation at The Love Motel

Christian's P.O.V.-

My mouth hung open like I was a total moron as we stood in front of this sleezy love motel. Turns out those actually exist…. Luckily for me, Anastasia appeared much more in tune to our needs in our current situation. While I nervously and quite awkwardly trailed alongside her, cautious of every glance and glare our way, my mate inspected each and every one of our options, which considerably wasn't much.

Realizing we didn't have enough to stay in a proper motel, and most wouldn't allow carnivores to share a room with herbivores anyway, we found ourselves wandering into the ahem, "red" district. Animals here didn't care so much that we were minors, but we still got odd looks from passers-by. Anastasia stopped in front of one…. interesting place and read the sign. Her face lit up in enthusiasm.

"Christian, look! It says "we allow inter-species couples" in small print here," she eagerly pointed to the sign covered with hearts and flowers…. I hope those were flowers. Now, I don't think Anastasia minded or cared that this was a…. love hotel; she seemed just glad we found somewhere to sleep tonight. I, on the other hand….

"We can stay here tonight," my beloved mate beamed up at me. I instinctively blushed, not daring to look her in the eye immediately. "Anastasia, this is…" I began but couldn't bring myself to say it. "I know, but it's the only place that'll let us stay together," she sighed as if reading my mind. Together…. I leaned in so to whisper into her ear. "You know…. I can just sleep outside. You can stay here alone," I didn't hesitate to offer. It's not that I didn't want to spend the night with her- far from it. But the last thing I wanted to do was to make her feel pressured in any way, shape, or form. While she might not be outwardly showing it, I didn't want to risk her feeling uncomfortable with any of this. She's been through so much already…. The last thing my mate needs tonight is another awkward or tense situation. I wanted to give her an out if she wanted one; I'd give it to her without a second thought…. Just so long as she was safe and comfortable.

Instead of taking me up on my offer, Anastasia merely blinked at him in surprise. "What? Why?" She asked, clearly puzzled. I shifted my feet a bit and glanced away shyly. I didn't want to outright say that she might feel weird sharing a room with a boy after her experience with Eric. Gotta dance around this so not to embarrass her or make her feel weird. "Why? Well…. Anastasia, you were just kidnapped by a group of carnivores. I don't….. Uh, sleeping together… well, I don't mean "together"! But sleeping in the same room on the same night that happened….."

What the hell am I doing? Where am I going with this? She's going to think I'm a total pervert or something. Nugh! That's the exact opposite of what I want! I want to prove to her that I'd never take advantage of her in this sensitive situation. Ok, new plan. I drew in a deep breath to steady myself before trying again. "I just thought you might not want to be alone with an apex predator so soon after…" Not to mention I was also a wolf. Dammit! Why did Eric have to be a wolf of all animals?

Anastasia looked contemplative for a moment and I inwardly sighed in relief. Nailed it! Or so I thought until she turned back to face me with resolve. "But Christian, you're the one who saved me from Lincoln. I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you. And besides…." She blushed timidly and I thought my heart might explode. Oh, the way her eyes looked at me just now…. "I want you to stay. I don't feel safe out here unless I know you're nearby."

Oh….. oh, that was the wrong thing to say. Wrong because it felt so right. Too right. How could I possibly leave her side now? Forget leaving her side- I'll never let her out of my sight again. Only….. How do I communicate with her that she has nothing to be afraid of? I'll never ask her to do anything she's not comfortable with. But I can't tell her that because then she'll know that…. Well, when we do have relations, it'll be on her good time and on her terms. I just don't want her to think that I've thought about doing anything with her….. Ugh! Since when did this get so complicated?! And here I thought finding Eric's layer was hard.

It was my turn to be surprised when all of a sudden, Anastasia took my hand. Her hand was holding onto mine…. Dear god, why did it instantly feel like I was on cloud nine whenever she simply touched me. One caress of her fingers and I was putty in her gorgeous hands. Hands I trusted more than anyone's… She held my hand and smiled up at me. "Don't worry, Christian. It'll be fine; nothing you do tonight could be a mistake. Let's go inside," I stood there, mouth agape as she gently pulled me into the lobby. How did I win the imprinting lottery with her?

My nerves did tense up however once we were finally in the room. A dark room, with a queen-sized bed; the whole back wall was covered with mirrors. So this is what a sex hotel room looks like? My eyes widened and my heart officially stopped at the horrific sight of a condom laying on one of the pillows. While Anastasia- who appeared much chiller about this current scenario than me- went over to close the window curtains, I made an "eek" sound and lunched for the little beast. My mate spun to me startled to find me clasping both hands behind my back. "Christian? What's wrong?" "I-It's nothing!" I said shakily, tossing the condom into the bathroom trash beside me rather noisily.

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

"Christian? What's wrong?" I asked, surprised by his sudden leaping across the room…. for some reason. "I-It's nothing!" He gasped and I heard something fall in the bathroom. "Did you hear that?" I perked up. "H-hear what?" His hands now flew out at his sides. Realizing it was probably nothing, I grinned back at him and continued my inspection of the room. I gotta say, this isn't what I pictured a love hotel room to look like. I mean, there weren't even any condoms around. I thought they'd leave one on the pillow but nadda. Not like we'd be using it tonight anyway.

I don't know if Christian wanted to try anything tonight or not; if he did, he sure wasn't broadcasting it. And while I'd love nothing more than to lay down and cuddle with him on that soft-looking bed, I didn't want to make him uncomfortable. After all, he just fought a mob lord and probably isn't in a cuddling mood. I wasn't ready for anything intimate beyond that yet…. not after what Lincoln was going to do to me. But I'll admit, I really, really just wanted to be held safe and sound in his arms tonight. I'd be so happy with that….. But Christian's comfort comes first; we'll do whatever he's ok with tonight.

Deciding this, I tried to make him feel better first by addressing the temperature in the room. He watched as I went over to the air conditioner and grinned back his way. "Should I turn up the AC? Do wolves like it cold or hot?" After staring at me for a moment, he unexpectedly blinked and gave his head a rough shake. "Put it however you want, Anastasia." Me- he's always thinking about me. What about his needs? I want to make him happy too. I really want to…..

"How about cold? Just a little cooler?" I ventured, to which Christian nodded his head and lowered his eyes slightly. "Sure." I then sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the seat beside me. "Come, sit…" I urged tenderly. He hesitated but after another second he joined me on the bed while anxiously clasping his hands. Why's he acting so nervous? Does he think I'm expecting him to do anything tonight? Only what he wants…. The way he sat down onto the bed made my body shift to the side. I found myself falling into him; I had to grab onto his arm to stop myself. Christian's eyes shot down at me; they were very, very wide.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, sorry! I wasn't expecting that! You weigh so much more than me… not that that's a bad thing! Of course you're going to weigh more, being a male wolf and all," I expressed. Christian didn't say anything, though he kept his stare glued onto me. My hands passionately tightened their squeeze on his bicep. Man, his muscles were like rocks! No wonder I felt so unbelievably safe with him, beside him…. My lips parted a little as we stayed like that- me leaning into his side and holding onto his arm.

"Christian…. I am sorry; I'm sorry you had to go through that tonight," I half-whispered, not looking at him as I said it. Christian didn't verbally reply automatically, but his muscles did tense up a bit. He moved ever so slightly to face me directly. Our eyes met and didn't break from each other. "Anastasia….. You have no idea…. It's because of you…. all because of you…. there's so much I want to tell you." "Oh right! You wanted to tell me something at the festival," I prompted, only to be mildly shocked when he didn't continue on. My lips faltered a tad and his eyes pierced mine. "Anastasia, there is something I have to tell… something I should have told you a long time ago." "What is it?"

A pregnant pause fell over the room. Christian gulped in a nervous fashion. "It was cold that night… I'm not sure if you remember." "Remember what?" I questioned. Which night is he talking about? "A quiet night, with only the sound of the fountain….." He went on. Wait, fountain? What night was I near a fountain? A night with only the sound of the fountain…. A cool night…. Hold on, my eyes started to grow. _"That night! You scratched my arm! You were going to kill me, like you killed Tom!" "Tom? Tom, Tom…. Oh, the boy! I see. So you've been attacked before, have you? No, sorry, sugar. I never attacked you or anyone on any school property." _I do recall a night when I was by the fountain; I was alone and…..

My gaze hesitantly shifted up to Christian's. He was now ogling down at me hard, like he was getting ready to say something…. Something he wasn't sure I was ready to hear. One of his hands coiled behind my back, reaching the centre. "C-Christian?" I had just enough time to glance back at his hand before he spun me around to embrace me in a position we'd been in previously. His body towered over me, like a shield made of flesh. And he held me there, effectively trapping me in place… Trapping me, the exact same way I was trapped that faithful, terrifying night. 


	48. Supremely

Anastasia's P.O.V.-

Christian held me so secure and close…. I couldn't breathe in those first few seconds. I couldn't breathe or move…. "C-Christian! W-What are you doing?" My lips gasped in mild shock and horror. I knew this position from somewhere…. Being held like this; I knew it, I swear I did. And it was not a good memory.

My wolf's heart was racing; I could practically feel his body heat up like a radiator. His arms were immovable, but his hands were shaky. "Anastasia….. Ever since that night, everything about me has changed." What night? What is he talking about? It wasn't…. him that night I was attacked by the fountain? No, it couldn't be. The first time I met Christian was at the garden during the day. That was the first time we saw each other…. right?

"There's…. something I've been keeping from you," Christian admitted. A drop of sweat rolled down my forehead. A secret? He's kept a secret from me? But… why? I thought he trusted me…. the way I trust him. I didn't dare say a word, anxious for him to continue. He took his time, but his heart was still beating a mile a minute. "The first time we met… wasn't in the campus garden." Wait, what? What is he talking about? Another drop of sweat formed on my face. Then when did we…..? Oh…. oh no. All of a sudden, it felt like absolutely everything was crashing down around me.

Christian sucked in a long, heavy breath, as if preparing himself for what came next. His mouth opened but it took a moment for any words to come out. But eventually….. "That monster who attacked you behind the football field….." A tense pause. "It was me."

My eyes grew gigantic as tears formed in the corners. No…. no, I don't want to hear this. It's not true. Christian would never attack me. _"Shut up! Christian would never hurt me or any herbivore!" _He wouldn't…. I knew Christian and he would never lay a hand on me. He wasn't that kind of carnivore. I wanted to put my hands over my ears as he finished his confession. "I… really tried to eat you. I…." No; no, stop it. "Christian!" Both my hands flew up to his arm. Stop talking; why are you telling me this?! "Let go!" I began to thrash, trying to remove myself from his arm. "Let go of me!" My mouth shrieked. I didn't want him to hold me in this position; I didn't want to remember that night…. The fear and dread I felt for so long afterwards.

Christian blinked now horrified, but he was reluctant to release me. If anything, his grip only intensified. "Anastasia, wait! Listen to me! I'm so sorry! You have no idea how sorry I am! I regret it each and every day. Had I known that you….." "I don't care! Let go of me! You almost killed me!" My body kept twisting and turning itself. "Anastasia!" "Do you have any idea how terrified I was?! I didn't know it was you… You! The only carnivore I've ever truly trusted… are also the same carnivore who tried to eat me!" "I can't tell you how sorry I am! But things are different now, I swear to you!" "How?! How are they different?! Because we're friends? Because I care about you? That gives me some insurance somehow?!" I shot back. Christian's grip tightened, if that were possible. His eyes winced shut in pure, unadulterated panic. "I imprinted on you!" The room boomed with his declaration.

I immediately froze so to gawk up at him utterly gobsmacked. Christian gently reopened his eyes to glance down to me in a soft manner. He took a few short breaths before going on. "I imprinted on you…. I don't know when and I don't know how, but now I'm sure of it. You're my mate, Anastasia; it's always been you. There's no other for you…. Everything I am, everything I'll ever be is all you now."

My lips parted in awe and shock. He's imprinted onto me…. Christian Grey's imprinted on me, which means that… I'm his…. mate? I'm his mate…. His one and only mate. That's when it hit me like a cold, hard brick. Now I get it! That explains why he attacked me that night; my scent must have sent him over the edge…. Aren't wolves attracted to their mates' natural scents? I think that's how it works. But I'm not a wolf; I'm a lamb…. And as Lincoln has taught me, lambs are one of wolves' favourite foods. Whether I like it or not, Christian is a wolf- an apex predator. And it was naïve of me to think that a part of him wouldn't always hunger for me. I didn't want to believe that was the case…. because I wanted to continue feeling safe and protected by his side.

"I'm sorry, Anastasia…." My eyes widened at the sensation of a warm teardrop landing on the back of my neck. I peeked back once again to find Christian crying; he was staring at me and weeping quietly. He looked a total wreck, a wolf visibly torn apart by his inner carnivorous self. His bottom lip wouldn't stop quivering. "I'm so sorry….. I can't even ask you to forgive me. You're the last creature I'd ever want to harm on earth; I don't want to harm anyone. I let my predatory urges get the better of me for a split second, and you almost paid the price. I'm sorry… You don't deserve a mate like me," he just couldn't stop crying. Then it hit me once more like another speeding train. This… this must have been hard on Christian too. All this time… he's had to carry this on his shoulders by himself. I had no clue it was him that night…. I had no clue he imprinted on me. Christian knew I was his mate before I did… and I can't imagine the guilt and remorse he must have felt this whole time- always, always alone with it.

The very thought made my head spin back around. This time, instead of trying to pry his arm off me, I tenderly rested my hand over top of it. Christian…. There's a secret I've been keeping from you too. Throughout the time we've known one another, I've come to care for you deeply. You make me so unbelievably happy and effortlessly too; you are so easy to be with. I don't care what other animals say about us- I care about you. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like I've won the jackpot….. knowing that you've imprinted on me. That I'm your mate, for good or bad… I'm your mate. I'm taken.

Christian flinched in surprise, obviously startled by my sudden calm show of affection. Instead of saying anything, I pushed his arm in closer to myself so to hug it as best I could. My eyes shut in a tender, passionate fashion. "It's ok, Christian…. I know this must have been hard for you. I'm sorry for getting mad at you; I didn't think….." How difficult these last couple of months must have been for you as well.

Christian could only blink, seemingly beyond confused at what was happening. Analysing his dumbfounded response, I continued to bury my cheek into his bronze arm. "I'm not angry at you, Christian. And I understand why you didn't tell me right away. It sounds like it was traumatic… for both of us." "That doesn't excuse what I did," he gulped. My grin deepened as my eyes shut. "But I understand why you did it. You're a wolf, and I'm a lamb; it's only natural that you should want to chase me." Christian, of course, hesitated to accept this. "Anastasia….." "That's part of your nature; you can't help that. But you've also imprinted on me…. That's just as much a part of you too. After all, you wouldn't have imprinted on me if you weren't a wolf….."

Christian's P.O.V.-

"After all, you wouldn't have imprinted on me if you weren't a wolf….."

It's true…. The only reason I imprinted on Anastasia is because it is instinctual for me, part of my DNA…. And while I will always regret attacking my beloved that first night, I wouldn't want to change the fact that I'm a wolf…. So long as I can use what strength I have to protect my mate, the one I imprinted on. These are things I wouldn't want to forgo….

"Anastasia, I…" Before I could finish my sentence she gently cut me off, still holding onto my arm. "If you want to make it up to me, then realize that…. I must do. We are from two different worlds, colliding somewhere out in space. But that doesn't mean we can't learn and grow together. I want to learn…. and grow with you, Christian." "Anastasia….." My darling, angelic, flawless Anastasia. My palm pressed down on my skin; I could almost smell her adoring smile from here. A smile that could stop my heart…. "Be happy, Christian. You can also make it up to me by being supremely happy." Only when I'm with you, sweetheart. That happiness comes without effort, whenever you're nearby…. Look at her, this angel in my arms. She transforms anything into greatness. I don't know what I ever did to deserve someone so glorious as her. And I didn't just believe that because she was my mate. I'm fairly convinced that I would have fell in love with her no matter what…..

My heart sprang up out of my chest up through my throat when she unexpectedly giggled. "Your heartbeat is so loud, it feels like it's going to push me off the bed." "I can't, Anastasia….." Everything in me went wild as her hand moved from my arm to reach up to the side of my cheek. I watched it speechless as it began to caress me softly. Wha-…. What is happening? I'm holding her here in my arms and yet, I want her closer. I want her as near to me as physically possible. She giggled beautifully again. "Is this harder than fighting Lincoln?" "O-Of course it is," now that she said it, I could hear my heart thumping in my ears. Anastasia….. Anastasia! No matter what I tried to think about, all thoughts went back to her. Every single thought.

"It's ok, Christian; I trust you. You've said what you needed to tell me- now I want to decide where we go from here. Tell me what you need….. Tell me how to make you happy." Happy…. What she doesn't realize… What she doesn't understand is….. "You already make me happy, Anastasia. And I'm happiest when you're happy….. I'd give anything to make you happy," I freely admitted. She waited a minute before shuffling around so to face me. She had also been crying- tears of joy I take it, since her smile was radiating off her gorgeous, red lips. We locked eyes for a moment, taking our time to utter a word.

"_For a few seconds they looked silently into each other's eyes, and the distant and impossible suddenly became near, possible, and inevitable." _

"Christian….." "Anastasia." I ogled her again in fasciation. I'll never understand how I got to be so fortunate…. My fingers lifted to brush some stray tears from her moist cheek. She blinked softly, returning her gaze straight to me. "Are you happy, Christian?" And I smiled at her….. oh, how I smiled. "Supremely." This made her grin blossom wide and my head slowly leaned down into hers. Both our eyes closed, awaiting the inevitable.

I had no reason to ask why she came into my life, for I knew as certainly as if she had told me that she was here to be where I was.


	49. Epilogue

Paul's P.O.V.-

"Anastasia!" I burst through the busted remains of the door; the bulk of it was on shatters on the ground. One rapid glance around the room told me that she wasn't there. The place was a wreck- it was clear a fight had broke out. But there was no sign of Ana; Christian must have already gotten her outta here- thank god. The only sound I could hear at the moment was Hidoku climbing up the stairs to join me; he'd taken quite a beating too. His footsteps echoed down the hallway when all of a sudden an unfamiliar, low voice growled from the shadows in the corner of the room.

"T-That bastard…." The creature, which I soon realized was a wolf, lifted his upper half off the ground with both hands. He was a mess- a total, bloody mess. His neck all the way to his bottom jaw was covered in blood, plus he smelt horrible. I don't think he noticed or cared that I had arrived; his eyes were locked forwarded and his jaw was clenched in a vicious, vengeful fashion. One of his hand wiped his mouth as he struggled to stand up. It honestly took me a second to comprehend that I was looking at Eric Lincoln- still alive but barely- right now. I watched his feet stumble a little and his hands rolled into dangerous fists. "I'll kill him…. I'll kill them both," he hissed in a tone I'd never heard anyone use before.

I get it: he didn't get the chance to eat Ana because Christian got here first. He and Eric must have had a gory fight before Christian escaped with Ana. It looked like Christian actually bit Eric in the neck- a deadly move if Hidoku was to be believed. And yet, he didn't kill Eric; he was probably too distracted with get Ana outta this hell hole. Not that I blame him; my mind would have ran on the same logic. My hands also instinctively clenched into fists as I stared at the wolf. The wolf that abducted Ana, the wolf that tried to devour her alive….. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. Christian may not have killed this guy, but I can. No wolf is a match for my brute strength- I can take him down. Christian's not the only one who can protect Ana….

Without consciousness of what I was doing, I felt my fist fly into the first body part of Eric's that I could reach- it happened to be his arm. Wounded and profoundly shocked, the bastard made the vital mistake of spinning around to face me, only for me to clock him in the cheek. That dickhole fell straight back, only stopping when he hit the wall. A pained and alarmed gasp erupted from his lips; his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. I'm pretty sure there was some internal bleeding going on when his now limp body slid his bottom half to the floor, leaving a trail of thick blood along the wall. He kept gasping uncontrollably while I marched over to him, yanking him up by the collar of his shirt. Now he looked scared, which only made me angrier. Oh, so it's ok when Ana's terrified out of her wits, but it's a whole other thing when he's afraid? Screw this guy!

Eric visibly struggled to breathe as my hand gripped his shirt tighter. Our eyes locked; my protective instincts were going through the roof. "You better listen and listen good! If you ever so much as lay a finger on her ever again, you're going to be the one begging for your life! You got that?!" I gave him a hard shake for good measure. It was around then that Hidoku entered the room. "Paul!" He cried; it took him some time to pull me off of Eric. I managed to get one swift kick in his ribcage, breaking what few that weren't already broken, as the dishevelled, poor excuse of a carnivore scrambled out of the room. And when I say "scrambled", I don't mean fast by any meaning of the word. Both Hidoku and I watched him leave in disgust. Good thing the panda got here when he did too, otherwise Eric wouldn't be able to use his legs at all, never mind see.

Hidoku patted me on the back after he released my arm. Then he scanned around the room. "She's not here?" "Christian already got her," I turned to the door to leave. Or I did until Hidoku stopped me. I shot him a confused, monstrous glare. "What are you doing?!" I demanded clearly upset by this. It didn't help that his face remained stoic and firm. "Are you going after them?" He asked in a tone which made me madder. "Yes! Get out of my way!" "But she's with Christian now." "I don't care! I want to see her! I want to see she's alright with my own eyes!" Why am I explaining this? I shouldn't have to explain this. I felt floored however at Hidoku's shaking head.

"The lamb's fine. Christian will take good care of her." "I could give a damn about what Christian can do! I still want to see her!" "What else can you do for her?" "Wha-…. What do you mean "what else"?! I can do a lot for her!" Ok, that really made me mad. Why would he say something like that to me? After all I went through to help save her. But he just kept shaking his head in disapproval.

"Let her be with Christian; he's what she needs now, and vice versa. That's what you can do for her." "But I…." I wanted to continue but the panda quickly cut me off. "This is natural; this is right. That's how imprinting works…. I'm sorry, kid, but you never had a chance." My lips parted a sliver as I meditated what he'd just said to me. I never had a chance, did I? I really hated the way that sounded….

My eyes lowered a tad and the panda released my arm once he was sure I wouldn't bolt out of the room. My line of sight wandered into nowhere dejected. "Why? Why does he automatically get her? It isn't fair; I saw her first…. I…. I loved her first. Doesn't that count for anything?" "Of course it does. After all, if you never met her and developed the friendship you had, she'd be dead right now," Hidoku said, making me look at him. Hey yeah, I guess that's true too… The only reason I came is because I do love Ana…. I love her so much. That…. was enough; that was enough to get me here tonight.

Ana….. Ana…. No matter how hard I tried, her picture kept appearing over and over in my head. There's so much I want to tell you, I should have told you a long time ago…. You are my rose without a thorn, the sunlight that lit up my sky. Beautiful, penetrating sunlight…. Hidoku blinked at me as a small, light chuckle erupted from my lips.

"Remember when I said I can't stop wanting Ana? God, I can't believe how stupid I've been…. I should have told her; there's so much I should have said before tonight. If she was here now, I'd take her by the hand and hold onto her with all my might…. Like I'm holding onto the one thing I can't let go of. I'd then look in her eyes and tell her "I love you, Ana; I don't know when I started loving you, but dear god, I love you. And, without either of us realizing, I said it to you every day….. in ways neither of us knew. It was caught in the way I smiled at you, or how much I looked forward to hearing the sound of your voice….. Every part, every aspect of you made life easier. Even when I missed you…. I think that's when I unconsciously knew I loved you the most- in the ways I missed you every time you were gone"."

I finally paused and caught Hidoku watching me intently. A solemn, sad smile painted itself over my mouth; our eyes locked onto each other's. "I love her….." "And that's enough," the panda breathed, and I nodded. "That's enough….." Ana, regardless of what happens or who you end up choosing in the future, I still won't regret a thing. The final image was of Ana from years ago, back when we first met; she was smiling at me then…. Ana, the lamb I cherish so much… Did you know that meeting you was a blessing? Christian better know what that feels like. He better be worthy of you; to be able to conquer the world with his single hand, if you holding the other… I will hold him to that. After all….

We can't stop loving you.

The End.


	50. Thanks For Reading

Hi all my lovely readers!

Thanks for reading. I began this story with the intent of Christian and Anastasia's time in the hotel being the last chapter, with an epilogue telling what happened to Paul and Hidoku. I hope you enjoyed the fic! If you want more stories or have any ideas, please let me know! I read all your comments and really appreciate them. Readers like you make me want to continue writing.

Thanks again for reading! Best wishes!


End file.
